The Blood of the Wolf
by tampoposensei
Summary: Blood can be many things, birth, death, life and strange jutsus. What is the connection between wolf blood, white hair and the fate of Konoha? How will Kakashi save everyone and his own soul? Action, sex, language. Yaoi. Kakairu. Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer. Neither Iruka-sensei nor Kakashi-sensei are mine, but that's ok. I know I'm really not their type.

A.N. This is an action adventure type tale. It will have some OCs in important roles, but be strictly focused on Kakashi and Iruka. Don't want to give away too much yet.

I plan to do one chapter every 2 weeks until it is done.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Blood of the Wolf.

Iruka was pinned under him, hard, smooth, slick with sweat. He could feel his lover's thighs straining against his sides, their pulsing pressure urging him on. Together they were a perfect fit, perfectly matched, fair skin against dark, white hair against black, strength against… a different strength that was much more gentle. He leaned in to kiss the face he loved so much and was met with hot wet lips and an eager tongue. Ah God it was good. There was a change in the Iruka's breaths as they became short and sharp, almost like soft barks, it was what he had been listening for. Iruka was at the edge, so was he. Kakashi gasped loudly, so loudly that he woke himself up. Quickly regaining control he held back just in time, as his imaginary lover vanished.

"You ok Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said anxiously nearby.

He pulled up his mask and flipped back the blanket. "Yes fine, fine. Just a dream."

"Oh, a nightmare?"

"Not exactly." Kakashi smirked. "Since I'm awake I'll take over the watch now, you get some sleep.

The young woman yawned loudly. "Thanks, don't mind if I do."

He listened to the rustle of her blankets then carefully thought over what had just happened. Of course he'd indulged in wet dreams about Iruka many times when he was away on missions, but only solo missions, never when he had the kids with him. So how had he come so close to embarrassing himself tonight? He wasn't the only one to let his control slip on this mission either. Naruto had almost blasted one of their targets away when he'd come within range, despite the fact that the whole reason they were there was to capture and to interrogate him. Fortunately he'd stopped in the nick of time, but it had let the enemy escape. And Sakura, who even as a child had chakra control that was almost beyond belief, had erupted several acres of ground. In the wrong direction.

Something was definitely off. The kids were young and green, bound to make some mistakes, but he was Sharigan Hatake and his focus just _didn't _drift like this, not on missions. The sense of 'not quite reality' that he'd learned to associate with powerful genjutsus long ago hung in the air, but there was no illusion, he was sure of it. Hitching his headband up an inch, he peered under it, just to be sure. No, no illusions. But there _was_ something. He pulled down his mask and tracked his sensitive nose along the inside of his arms and across his chest. Fuck, he could _smell_ Iruka and he hadn't been near the man in over two weeks.

The following day Kakashi and his team were all wretched and weary. It had been a long chase and none of them had been sleeping well, but they had finally cornered their quarry. The two unknown nins had been easy to track. One of them must have been hurt because they left a distinct scent of blood wherever they went. They had followed them deep into cloud country and then most of the way back again, but now the man and woman had staked out a rocky outcrop at the foot of the mountains. A good strategic choice, the limestone rocks on the slopes above were quite unstable. That was clear from the many boulders and heaps of skree. Not a good place for explosive releases of chakra. The rocks they were hiding amongst would provide their adversaries with decent protection against a landslide, but out in the open his team would have none. It would have to be a close combat fight, but they couldn't kill, they needed information.

"Stay back, let us handle this." Kakashi hissed to Sakura, as he signaled to Naruto that he was about to flank around. Naruto started walking forward, openly bristling with weapons. Using ultimate stealth Kakashi closed the gap from behind. The smell of blood was strong, permeating the whole area, he even imagined he could see a faint mist of it in the air. The man peeked from behind a boulder and Kakashi responded with a kunai sent hurtling towards his shoulder, but he pulled back, dodging it easily. Then the woman was in the air above him, swinging a sword towards his head. He leapt away, ducking behind a jagged white rock. How did she know where he was? She couldn't possibly have seen or detected him. He threw a handful of shuriken to the spot where she'd landed and switched his position to another rock, just in time to see the man lash a saw-edged chain to where he had just been.

What the fuck was going on here? He had never seen ninjas work together so perfectly, and he'd seen teams in action that were damn good. It was spooky, as if they could see through each other's eyes. He hopped onto the top of the rock and transformed into a sparrow. Naruto was now within attack distance at the front of the outcrop. The man turned and saw him. Kakashi transformed back to distract him then left a clone standing on the rock as he jutsued away. The woman threw a shuriken over her shoulder that ripped across his clone's throat, without so much as turning around.

Naruto released a shower of kunai, from his position in front of the rocks. Now _he_ had their full attention, but instead of pressing his advantage the youth froze for a moment. An impossible mistake. His overheated blood turned to ice as he realised that he'd left an opening to his enemies and that he was about to die. Kakashi saw everything. Instantly he understood everything. There was no time to take out one then the other. So, both at once then. He leapt high into the air and shot a shuriken at the man that sliced through his upper arm, severing the ligaments below his shoulder. Then landed, pressing a kunai into the back of the woman's neck.

Got them! Or not. The mystery nins teleported away as one.

"Damn! They went this way." He called out to the others. Even the pair's chakra trail was laced with the scent of blood.

Naruto collapsed at his feet.

He scooped him up as Sakura ran over to them. Fortunately she located the tiny needle in his wrist and drew out the poison before it had much chance to circulate through his body.

"And I was about to complain that I didn't get to do anything." She commented, as she sat, resting his blond head on her lap.

"Let him sleep, I'll be able to find them later." Kakashi assured her, hoping it was true.

A blue eye slitted open. "Shouldn't take the chance, not after all this trouble. I'm ok, I was just… comfortable."

Sakura jumped up sharply, letting him fall to the ground with a groan and brushing off her thighs, where his head had been nestled. "Why you… you've been hanging out with that pervert Jiraiya too much, you're gonna be glad you heal so fast when we get back home and I beat you to pulp for this."

"'Spose I deserved that." Naruto said with a guilty grin. "By the way, sorry I froze up on you back there, for a moment I had the feeling they were all around me. I didn't know which direction to throw. Not like clones, just this presence all around. Weird."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sakura agreed. "There's something kinda off about these two. Makes my skin feel all crawly whenever we get near them. Surely you've noticed too Kakashi-sensei?"

He couldn't have put it better himself. "Hmm, well we'll find out when we catch them."

As it happened it didn't take Kakashi long to track their targets down again. The scent of blood led him to a cave, a narrow dark opening hidden in the shadows where the mountains met the forest. He knew it well and obviously, they did not. Although the caverns went deep underground and formed a complex network of interconnected chambers, he knew that this was the only entrance. All he had to do now was wait for them to find that out for themselves and come back up.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of hidden leaf, took the scroll from the back of the bottom draw in her desk and unrolled it across the desk's polished surface. She read it through for the umpteenth time. A coded message from Hidden Sand warning of… something. Something big that involved Konoha and that was very scary. Rumours they'd picked up from nomads and travelers in the desert. Rumours of people who didn't seem to belong, of unexplained explosions, and of ship that had arrived at night and unloaded a small but heavy cargo that now lay hidden somewhere beneath the shifting dunes.

She had to send someone to Sand to get more details and she knew _who_ she had to send. Hatake Kakashi. His could track, hunt, and uncover hidden secrets like no one else in all the Ninja Villages in the world. But Kakashi and his team still hadn't come back from their last mission. She sighed. She'd wait another two days then send… who? There _was _no one else.

Returning the scroll she turned to the others piled in a basket at the side of her desk. She opened one and raised an eyebrow.

"Send someone for Umino Iruka."

Shikamaru found Iruka on his hands and knees in the academy training field. Red faced, embarrassed and very frustrated. The day's weapons training had ended for his pre-genin class more than an hour ago, and it had been… challenging. In fact the class he had just survived was a perfect example of the experience he would like to force on _anyone_ who thought academy teachers had safe and easy lives. Some of these kids had power. Raw, undisciplined, wildly out-of-control power. Enough to blast his chakra tags right off some of the training kunai so that now he simply couldn't find them.

That was why he was crawling around in the long grass. The idea of leaving weapons in a place where children genetically predisposed to throw sharp pointy objects liked to play, upset him. Even after receiving Tsunade's message he was tempted to keep searching just a little longer, but she might have news that he was desperate to hear.

"Alright I'm going." He said irritably as Shikamaru reminded him for the third time that Hokage-sama was expecting him. "But you'll have to take over here and don't you dare leave here until you've found at least five kunai. I know they have to be around here somewhere." He narrowed his eyes. "If you leave before you find every single one of them I will tell your mother."

Konoha's laziest chuunin rolled his eyes and wandered over to the trees at the far side of the field then lay down and looked at the clouds drifting overhead. He would wait until the sun was at a low enough angle to spread the shadows from the forest across the grass, then blend his own shadow into it and use it to probe the whole field. Another two or three hours should do it. It was troublesome but he could wait. No one with a grain of sense upset _his_ mother.

"Is Kakashi back? Is he ok?" Iruka blurted out as soon as he was ushered into Tsunade's office.

She smiled at him, a hint of genuine amusement lightening the grimness in her eyes. "I'm sorry Iruka, we still haven't heard. But he _was_ given strict instructions not to send any communication until he was safely within Fire Country borders. The mission room has been broken into twice now. Someone is infiltrating the village and gathering information on us. We need to know how and why."

"Of course Hokage-sama." The teacher answered politely as all the eager anticipation drained out of his body, replaced with dull resignation. "So why did you want to see me?"

"Actually I have an important mission for _you_. One of the lords of Wave Country has requested a bodyguard to escort his daughter to Hidden Waterfall, to visit some family."

It was the last thing Iruka had expected to hear, he hadn't left the village for longer than a day in more than a year. "But an escort for a princess is an A class mission, I'm hardly qualified."

"Normally I'd agree, and in fact he's offered to pay well above our usual A class rates, but he wants to keep this all as low key as possible. The girl will be travelling incognito, dressed as a boy, and he specifically asked for one shinobi, ranked no higher than chuunin. Someone who can pass as a tutor. He's heard about the gangs of thieves and bandits in the borderlands and is concerned that a jounin escort might draw attention, make them suspicious of his daughter's true identity."

Iruka looked doubtful but it wasn't his place to ask questions, he held his tongue.

The woman leaned towards him exposing an impressive expanse of cleavage. "Look I don't agree with him either, but as I said he's willing to pay a very generous fee. We really can't afford to turn this down. The village is still badly in debt from the rebuilding we've had to do over the past few years." She smiled trying, and failing, to seem soft and gentle. "That's why I'm asking you. I know that you've been getting some special training and that your er, 'training partner' has brought your skills up to well above normal chuunin level."

Iruka blushed, he was flattered but knew his limitations. "Kakashi has helped me to improve quite a lot but he can't make me better than my natural ability." He took a deep breath. "But if you want me to go I'll take the mission."

Tsunade's attempt at softness abruptly vanished. "I _do_ want you to go. Leave at dawn."

Oooooooooooooooooo

After five days taking turns to monitor the web of chakra he'd woven around the cave entrance Kakashi realised that he would have to go into the cavern after all. The smell tainting the still air at the cave entrance had become stronger and unmistakable. Death. Although neither Naruto nor Sakura seemed to have noticed it yet.

"Stay here." He ordered. "I'm going in."

There was no need for his young teammates to see what he knew was down there. They saw enough horrors, and he was sure he'd find something horrible. The stench intensified as soon as he was in the cave. A lot of blood, metallic, rank and decayed. And the slightly sweet, nauseating smell of putrefying flesh just starting to overtake it.

Past the entrance the tunnel descended quickly. Kakashi projected chakra light into the blackness ahead. It lit up the glittering wet crystals that lined the walls with jewels, covered the ceiling with icicles of stone, and littered his path with tiny spires. Nowhere this beautiful should be this fouled.

He found them deep underground. Two pale, bloated corpses. Floating. The whole inky pool carried the taint of dead blood. Reluctantly he walked over its surface and dragged them both to the shore. It didn't take more than a single glance to confirm his suspicions, they'd slashed their wrists and allowed their lives to bleed out into the water. Perhaps they'd calculated that by diluting their blood they could extend the time before the smell reached his sensitive nose and alerted him to their deaths. Why? What secret had they hoped to keep hidden from him by delaying him here for almost a week? Well whatever they'd stolen from the mission room was now mush at the bottom of that pool, lost forever in the dark water.

The bodies had no identification of any kind. Either missing nins or spies. But he already knew that much. He left them for the cave, it would drip lime water on them and turn their bones to stone over the course of the next ten thousand years. A permanent monument to their sacrifice.

That night Kakashi lounged in a tree while his two young teammates slept cocooned in blankets under its spreading branches. This was the best part of a mission, when it was over and everyone was still alive. Only now could he take time to enjoy the fresh scent of the forest and starlit beauty of the night. There was music too, the songs of a million insects, their trills and whistles combining to sound like the gush of running water as they desperately sought mates before winter closed in on them.

It was so peaceful and so beautiful as he silently kept watch that he was almost happy. Almost. To be completely happy he needed something else. Or rather someone else. Someone with eyes as brown as the forest floor and hair as black as the velvet night. He'd never had the opportunity to share this feeling with Iruka and without him he couldn't be completely happy. If only the teacher was with him now, helping him to watch over the two young people that they had both helped turn into first class ninjas. But Tsunade kept him confined to the village and to his classroom. Although Kakashi had hinted many times that it would be good for the teacher to broaden his horizons and do some more field missions, she was smarter than that. She knew that he was of most use to the village teaching its children.

His eyes traced the bright smear of the Milky Way across the sky. The air was cool and the nights were drawing in. There were still many hours of darkness. In another two he'd wake Naruto to take over from him and within a day they'd be back in Fire country and soon after that home. Then he could be happy again.


	2. Chapter 2

Iruka was leaving Konoha's main gate just as Kakashi and his team were leaving their overnight camp. He'd left a note for Kakashi as Kakashi did for him, when he was called away suddenly. It had been a hard letter to write. Just choosing the right pen had taken half an hour, and in the end he'd gone out to buy a new one. Blue. Black ink was too ordinary and the red he used to grade his student's papers way too scary. He had a bottle of sepia, but he'd have to use a brush with that, too formal. Blue seemed about right. When he was done the letter was personal enough, yet not so personal that he couldn't bear the thought of someone else reading it if the worst happened and neither of them came home.

As far as the world was concerned he was just a young tutor going to meet his young student. He walked briskly, a man with a purpose, a destination. But he walked, not raced, and along the road, not in the shadows or through the treetops. He was a tutor, not a ninja. Although he did have his leaf headband tucked into an inner pocket of his pack, he would be able to identify himself if he needed to. One fragile link to his village and everyone he loved.

Iruka hadn't been outside the village out of uniform since he was a kid, and it was… different. Liberating, if slightly unsettling. And he was on his way to the ocean. He was much more excited at the prospect of seeing it again than he felt he should be, at his age. His parents had taken him when he was a small child but he'd never been back.

He didn't really mind taking his time. The road to Wave Country was lovely, autumn was just starting to touch some of the trees with gold, making them light up in the golden light of the rising sun. Red dragonflies zipped past, speeding faster than the eye could follow then hovering like suspended jewels, following their age-old courtship dance. And overhead formations of cranes cut through the sky like winged arrows, headed south to their winter feeding grounds. Iruka was so engrossed in his surroundings that he didn't notice the rosy tint to the morning mist, and down on the road he didn't hear the fleeting rustle of leaves in the treetops above.

While he was still deep in the forestlands, a young woman was skillfully steering a motor launch between jagged rocks and towards a breach in the granite cliffs around Wolf Island. She tethered it to a metal ring set in the stone and sprang to the top of the cliff in a few agile leaps. Then she set off for the stone castle just visible on the mountains ahead. It was a stark lonely landscape. Rocky and barren with occasional copses of stunted old trees, windswept into tortured silhouettes against the bright sky.

The sun was high when she reached the castle. A sadly dilapidated wreck of what once must have been an impressive fortress. The outer wall was overgrown with creepers and a tree had broken through it in one place, causing part of it to collapse, and strewing debris on the ground nearby. She stepped over the fallen stones and traced a pattern on the rough inner wall. With a grating crunch a section slid open to allow her entrance. Once inside a servant appeared at her side, and they walked in silence through the castle's narrow passageways.

They stopped at a great wooden door and the servant hung back as she knocked. Without waiting for an answer she opened it and went through. There was a man seated on a cushion at a low table, eating sweet dumplings. Long dark hair almost completely obscured his face and the sleeves of his star spotted robe reached to his fingertips.

"Ah, come in Yoko my dear, have you had breakfast? Or should I call it lunch?"

She bowed slightly. "No thank you, I just came to tell you that he's on his way."

"Excellent, excellent. Well done."

"I should go to see my master now."

The man's expression changed behind his hair. To smugness? "Very good my dear. Any clue as to when the graft will become permanent?"

She shook her head. "I have the power for a while but it always wears off. I'm starting to suspect…"

"Suspect what my dear?"

"Well I just have a feeling that we can't both have it at the same time. That the true blood limit will always stay with him. Maybe a blood limit can't be fully transferred from one person to another."

"But we both know that's not true. That it worked once."

"You mean the Konoha man?"

"Yes exactly. Maybe there's something different in that case. Perhaps you can find out from this teacher when he gets here."

The woman bowed again and left.

A cloud of red mist appeared at the back of the room. An elderly man stepped out as it dissipated, walked over to the table and set down a bundle of folders next to the platter of dumplings. "I'm not sure these were worth the effort."

The robed man tensed imperceptibly, how much of the conversation had he heard? "They'll tell us what we need to know."

The old man sat on the floor with unexpected ease for his age and speared a dumpling with a skewer. "I saw him you know, the Konoha man. Through the mist. He was quite impressive in action."

So he'd heard at least that much. "Could he take you down?"

"Easily, I'm too old to fight. But isn't that the reason you want her?" He nodded towards the door where the woman had just left.

"Mmm. The transfer is going well, and you've done a good job training her." He shot a glance at his elderly companion from beneath his curtain of hair, but the other was too busy eating to notice.

"She's good, she'd be good even without everything her own blood limit has given her. We were lucky to find her."

Theyounger mannodded in agreement. "You'd better get to your rooms before she does."

The old man took another dumpling then disappeared into red mist.

Iruka heard the ocean before he saw it. A distant rumble, like far off thunder, but friendlier, without the threat of danger. As he got closer he could hear higher notes, the hiss of waves breaking onto the shore. It was so strange yet so familiar, could he really remember that sound from when he was six? Or was he fooling himself just because his name was Umino? Umino Iruka, Iruka of the sea. It had always seemed a strange name for someone born in a forest, but when the road turned through a curve and the sea came into view through a break in the pines, he felt honoured.

It was perfect, perfectly beautiful. An endless vista of deep blue water rising up to meet the azure October sky. Blue on blue. He scrambled down the rocks to the beach and stood on the sand, filling his senses with the sight, sound and smell of the ocean. Kicking off his sandals he walked out to the water's edge. The sand was soft and yielding under his feet, quite different to the harsh gritty stuff that he knew from the deserts of Wind Country. And where the beach was still wet from the retreating tide, it was firm and cool. The surf swirled around his ankles, soothing feet that were hot and achy from walking so far, then pulled back with a sigh to form another wave. Restless, ceaseless, stretching as far as the eye could see.

It reminded him of Kakashi, slouched and relaxed but never quite still, with hidden power that could sweep away anything in its path. And all blue, so very blue, like Kakashi's right eye. If he squinted he could just make out some of the islands that made up the archipelago of Wave Country. Maybe one of them was Wolf Island.

With a twinge of regret he left the water and climbed back up to the road. Dry sand stuck to the salt on his feet like an outer layer of stony skin.

In another mile he could see the bridge. Strong and sturdy, like its namesake, Naruto. Forming vital connections that improved and enriched the lives of those around it, like Naruto. He crossed it and walked onto a road over a mangrove swamp. Soon he would be at the port where a boat was due to meet him.

The boat was already there with its motor running, piloted by a woman of nineteen or twenty. She had white hair and bright blue eyes. Iruka tried not to stare. He sat down carefully, allowing his body to roll with the surf. Water with waves felt… interesting. Under the right circumstances, with the right person, he imagined it could be quite erotic.

The woman saw him blushing and turned around to button her shirt higher. So this Konoha sensei was modest and shy, she liked him, she'd enjoy it this time.

She revved the engine and headed towards the open ocean, Iruka held on grimly as the boat picked up speed and skipped over the tops of the waves. She obviously knew exactly where she was going, steering around what he guessed to be submerged shoals and turning sharply away from the setting sun towards a small island. Suddenly she cut the motor and he saw that that they were headed past the rocks towards a small gap in the cliffs. She tied up the boat, climbed out and offered him her hand. Iruka laughed, sprang out beside her and offered her _his_ hand, which of them was the ninja after all? Giggling like a schoolgirl, she let him help her up the cliff.

Wolf Island was enveloped in a thin layer of mist, tinted pink by the sunset behind them. But even in the fading light Iruka could tell that it was a delightful place. He saw spreading meadows dotted with late wildflowers and punctuated by a few gracious old trees, giving way to lush woodlands that covered the hills up ahead.

"I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet." The woman said. "I'm Yoko, I hope you don't mind walking, the soil here is fragile and we don't use vehicles if we can avoid it."

Iruka bowed. "Umino Iruka, Konoha chuunin, but I expect you know that already. And I don't mind walking at all. I wouldn't want to miss anything this lovely."

Yoko bowed in return, hoping it was more than coincidence that he had looked up at her when he said that last word.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi and his team reached Konoha just as the sun was starting to dip behind the horizon. He was empty-handed and had no idea who he had been chasing for the past three weeks or why. But right now he didn't care. The less he had to report the less time it would take to report it and the sooner he could go home to Iruka. He sent Naruto and Sakura on their way and set out over the rooftops for the mission room. With any luck his favourite chuunin would be on duty and he wouldn't have to wait until he got home to tease him breathless.

He wasn't in luck. Izumo was at the desk. Kakashi snarled behind his mask as the annoying droopy haired man took longer than he felt necessary to check over the report and date stamp it.

"You've already read it twice, it isn't that complicated." He said irritably. Then he heard heels clicking on the hard floor and looked over to where Tsunade had just entered the room.

"In a hurry Hatake? Don't bother, he's away on a mission."

Kakashi was shocked but kept his voice even. "You sent _Iruka _on a mission?" The words 'without me' hung in the air unsaid.

The Hokage snorted. "He was the right man for the job, see for yourself it all but had his name written on it." She tossed a scroll towards him.

Kakashi unrolled it and bristled visibly. "But this is an A class mission."

Tsunade smirked inwardly, why did she enjoy discomforting this man so much? "It was only classed as A to satisfy the vanity of the Daimyou. Iruka can handle it. He's done A class before. You're the one who's been pushing me to send him out into the world more."

Kakashi looked over the details. An accomplished, experienced chuunin who could act as a tutor. It was true. There was no one in the village that described better than Iruka. And he _had _done A class, but never on his own.

"So since he's not here I assume you won't complain about leaving again tomorrow. I need you to go to Wind Country, to the desert, I've been waiting for you to get back."

Kakashi nodded. "Of course Hokage-sama." Anything was better than hanging around worrying.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was almost dark by the time Iruka and his guide reached Wolf Castle. A huge edifice, looming black against the lingering grey of dusk. They'd climbed a steep slope to reach it and Iruka was surprised by Yoko's stamina and agility as she easily negotiated the stony path. But then she lived here, she probably ran up and down these hills several times a day.

Every detail of the castle spoke of great age and great wealth. Iruka was led through a gateway in massive stone walls that enclosed an elaborate formal garden. Past its best now, so late in the season, but still impressive. The inner wall had a small doorway cut into it. The warrior in Iruka couldn't help but think it a shame to spoil such a perfect fortress, but then they lived in a different world to the one the castle had been built for. He could hear the hum of a generator, but no lights had been turned on to brighten the gloom inside.

"It's late and you've had a long journey." Yoko said. "I'll arrange for some food to be brought up to your room and you can meet my father tomorrow."

"Your father! You mean that you're the princess?"

Iruka looked so delightfully confused that she couldn't help laughing at him. "Yes. My full name is Ookami Yoko and I can look a lot more regal when I need to."

He blushed hotly and scratched his head to cover his embarrassment. "I'm sorry I didn't mean… I was just expecting someone much younger."

She looked at him knowingly. "You think I don't look as if I need a shinobi bodyguard."

Iruka's cheeks flushed scarlet. "I would never suggest… that is a beautiful young lady like you should never travel so far alone."

The man was perceptive, and refreshingly honest, she glowed at the compliment.

While they were talking she led him up some stone steps and opened a paneled door, then flipped on a light. He'd never been anywhere so fine. The room was the epitome of elegance, from the ancient scroll paintings on the walls, to the delicate hand painted screen and the silk covered bed behind it.

"This is much too good for a tutor."

The young woman bowed. "You'll find we treat our guests well. We try to make them happier here than they would be at home." She covered her mouth and giggled sweetly. "Sometimes I suspect that my father secretly hopes they'll never leave."

"But I'm not really here as a guest, and we'll be leaving here tomorrow right?"

"Yes tomorrow, early. And _everyone_ who visits Wolf Island is an honoured guest."

Closing the door behind her she continued along the hallway, now dimly lit by the light shining through the panels. A light came on behind another paneled wall. She slid the door open and entered. The elderly man was lying on a small bed on the far side of the room.

He raised himself onto one elbow. "More blood already?"

She nodded. "He's strong, I'll need more power. He almost saw through me on the way up here."

Iruka heard a gentle tap on his door and two servants entered, one carrying a low table and the other a tray of food. They set down the table, arranged the bowls on it, bowed and then left without a word. The food smelled good but he had little appetite, despite walking all day. There was something depressing about this castle, an air of ancient gloom and old ghosts, as if it knew horrible secrets that were best left untold. He ate a little rice and drank some tea then sat on the deep stone sill and watched the stars gathering in the night sky. He wondered if Kakashi was home yet and whether he was looking at the same stars. Had he thought of him at all? Somehow he missed him even more than when he was in Konoha, and he wouldn't have believed that possible.

The waves pounded against the rocks in the distance. That was something Kakashi couldn't share, the sound of the sea. The sea that linked this island to the continent and the sea that separated him from the ones he loved.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi found Iruka's note inside Icha Icha, lying on his pillow. He smiled, the man knew him altogether too well. Knew that as soon as he got home he'd want to lie in bed and read some smut. Or at least without Iruka there, that's what he'd settle for. Such a sweet note too. Trying to be stiff and businesslike but dripping with sloppy sentimentality. He folded it small and tucked it into an inside pocket in his jacket. Now food, then sleep. He had an early start tomorrow.

But sleep didn't come easily. It was years since he'd come home to an empty house and he missed Iruka, the aching need for him forming a hollow inside his chest. Much more than just the sex, although it had been three weeks, and he missed _that_ a lot. The welcome home, God I've missed you, I'm so glad you're safe, let's fuck like demented rabbits until we both collapse from exhaustion, kind of sex that he had learned to anticipate.

He climbed into Iruka's side of the bed. It had been neatly made but the sheets were a little rumpled, used, whereas his side was unappealingly smooth and untouched. No it wasn't just the sex. He missed the man simply being there, with his smell, his weight, the rhythm of his breathing, the warmth radiating from his body. Iruka's sweet musky scent surrounded him as he pulled the sheets up to his face and he inhaled deeply, sucking in the lingering trace of his absent lover.

It made him relax, well most of him. One part was reacting in a very different way, a way that was impossible to ignore. He reached down and smoothed his hand along its increasing length. In his imagination the hand was darker, less narrow, with quick nimble fingers. God how he missed him, he hoped he was safe. The muscles across his groin and belly tightened and he groaned in response. He'd make a mess but he'd change the sheets in the morning, before he left. Closing his eyes he increased the pace tantalisingly slowly, stroking softly, gently, the way Iruka did.

It wasn't enough, but for now it was all he had.


	3. Chapter 3

When Iruka opened his eyes it was dark. So dark that it made it almost irrelevant that his eyes were open at all. He could feel rather than see the presence in the room, but he damn well knew it was there, a vague silvery shape in the far corner. The sound of the ocean and of the generator seemed much louder than before. Unbearably loud. They buzzed and roared clogging his ears with sound. And he was afraid, deathly afraid. But he was shinobi and shinobi were not afraid, not of ghosts. Or… _aliens?_ In his peripheral vision he could tell that the figure was tall and spindly. Its one visible eye glowed red.

He tried to turn towards it, but found that he was frozen, trapped against the bed. Terror tightened in his chest as it moved closer. The noise throbbed.

"I thought you'd be more pleased to see me."

Kakashi? It was his voice but strange, dangerous. His naked white form became recognisable as he climbed onto the bed and climbed up Iruka's body. Stopping only to peer into his eyes, too closely and too coldly. His lover stripped off the few clothes he had been sleeping in, then settled down, seated astride his chest. A mocking half smile lifting the corners of his lips.

"Not even a smile?"

Iruka wanted to tell him to move, to say that he couldn't breathe. The weight on his chest was crushing him, forcing every ounce of air from his body. Kakashi must have understood because he shifted position so that he was crouching low on his thighs. As the pressure eased Iruka felt a surge of desire, despite the arctic chill of his fear, as his body responded automatically to the other man's presence. It was hardly unexpected, they'd been apart for weeks.

He struggled to suck in a deep breath but all he could manage were short sharp gasps. Kakashi tilted his head in amusement.

"I didn't think we'd reached that point yet."

His lover reached to grasp him and leaned in to lick off the tear of sticky liquid, eyes shining with glee.

"So you _are_ pleased to see me."

Iruka tried to speak but he had no air. Kakashi held him immobile with a hand at each shoulder and nudged his head back with his nose, so that he could dance the tip of his tongue in the little hollow under his chin. Changing direction he began to dot tiny kisses down the midline of his chest, and beyond. When he reached the silky black fur he gripped it between his teeth and tugged playfully. Iruka closed his eyes and leaned back, still gasping for air as he felt a familiar tongue, hot, moist, impossibly skillful, unbelievably sweet, caressing him. Ahh, it was good, painfully good. So why did he feel he was about to die?

A moment later Kakashi was sucking and swallowing, as if he intended to drag his orgasm right out of him. Iruka looked up pleadingly, his mind swirling with need, fear, terrifying confusion. The red eye fixed him, and flickered. But not with the familiar black swirls. With flames. Both eyes flickering. Burning red.

The roaring sound became laughter, inhuman laughter. It wasn't a man crouched on his legs. It was a fox. The kyuubi.

Blood red breath poured from its throat as it swiped its long narrow tongue around him, lapping hungrily.

Iruka wasn't surprised when it spoke. Nor that it had Kakashi's voice. "Shall I eat you? You want me to don't you? I can see it in your eyes. I'd forgotten just how good Uminos taste."

Razor sharp teeth cut into his root and he felt the beast's weight pressing him down into the bed. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't speak. All he could do was lie there in absolute cold fear as the dark clouds of death closed in, obscuring more and more of his vision.

Suddenly he jerked up. Grey dawn was streaming through the unshaded window, brightening the room just enough for him to be sure that he was alone. He lay back pulling the sweat-dampened sheets up to his chin, unnerving images from his dream still twisting in his imagination. It had been a long time since he'd had a nightmare about the kyuubi. He didn't like this place at all.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi stretched a dome of energy above him, sealing out the storm. He shouldn't advertise his presence like this, shouldn't waste chakra this early into a mission, but he damn well wasn't going to drown in the desert before he even got started. And the sudden storm looked as if it had every intention of doing just that. Hail piled around him in little drifts as he pressed lower into the sand to avoid attracting the lightening that was illuminating the sky in brilliant flashes, while thunder cracked like rifle shots in his ears. Just as well he'd had no trail to follow in the first place, it would all be washed out anyway after this. Then he'd be even more pissed off.

The storm swept over as quickly as it had arrived and he scurried for higher ground. It was hard to predict the path a flash flood might follow and he wasn't taking any chances, not with the way his luck was running so far.

From a sandy ridge he surveyed the crescent shaped dunes stretching to the horizon. People lived here? On what, sand? Fishing in his pocket he pulled out the name of his contact, although he knew it already. Dakatsu, The Desert Serpent. He was the chief of a clan of desert nomads, the only inhabitants of the vast stretch of wasteland between Hidden Sand and the ocean, and the man who would know all about the rumours.

Slowly he became aware of another's presence, coming toward him from the bright light that was forcing its way through the clouds, with stealth that would rival the most skillful ninja.

He drew a weapon.

In an instant he was standing between something, someone, and the sun. Holding his blade against a throat. The throat below a head that seemed to be floating about five feet above the sand. By narrowing his eye to a slit he could just make out the cloaked figure under it.

"No need for that dearie, we've been expecting you." A woman's voice.

She slowly turned to face him, squinting so that the happy crinkles etched around her eyes deepened into fleshy ravines. "Name's Dakatsu. Got caught in a nasty bit o' weather didn't you? Best come on inside and have a cup o' tea."

He took a step back, his usual slouch concealing the tightly coiled tension in his body, and folded the kunai into the palm of his hand. The woman shook off her hood and he could see that the head had red hair and a ruddy face to match. The face of a plump middle aged woman.

"You're Dakatsu?"

"Yes dear, sorry to disappoint you. Named after my old dad, he had a funny sense o' humour." Moving slowly, very slowly, she produced a bandage from under her cloak. "Now just let me put this here blindfold on you and we'll be getting right along."

He didn't like to be put at such an obvious disadvantage, but Kakashi was confident that the strange woman wouldn't be much of a threat even if he was completely blind. And if he wanted information he didn't have much choice. So he slowly slipped the kunai back into his thigh holster and stooped down allowing Dakatsu to tie the bandage over his exposed eye. The rasping rustle of the fabric being tied behind his head set his nerves on edge… as if he wasn't unsettled enough already.

Dakastsu chattered cheerfully as she led him over the uneven dunes, warning him as he was about to trip on gulleys and ridges left by the recent downpour. Suddenly she let go of his hand.

"Alright, now jump straight down dearie, 'Sabout ten feet but you look pretty fit. If I can still make it I daresays you can too."

He heard a bump, took a deep breath and leapt blindly, landing as silently as a cat.

The blindfold was snatched off his eyes. "Here we are."

Kakashi found himself standing at the bottom of a deep hole, the sky a circle of blue above his head, and with wide tunnels bored into the coarse sandstone in four directions.

Dakatsu hurried down one of them, calling back to him. Her voice echoed like an effect in a cheesy old movie. "Come along now and I'll make us that tea."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke up, for the second time that morning, to the smell of fresh coffee. Breakfast was set out on the low table. He got out of bed and staggered over to it. He watched curls of steam rise from the hot liquid and fade into the air as he ate hungrily, but uneasily. How had they entered the room and replaced the dishes without waking him? He knew he was a better shinobi than that. Of course he'd been very tired, but even so… This damn castle was depressing, it deadened his senses. He'd be glad to get away from the place.

When he was dressed and ready, a silent servant escorted him into the garden, where a boy of about thirteen or fourteen was seated on a marble bench. His white hair was tied in a high ponytail and he was simply, but expensively dressed. The pale morning sun caught him at its low angle, making him shine like a visitor from the spirit world. Yoko must have a younger brother. Iruka prepared to greet him politely.

"So Sensei, what do you think?"

"Princess? But… but that's amazing, I've seen true transformations that were less convincing."

"Thank you, but you should call me Yoki now. And I understand transformations are a special skill in your village?"

Iruka looked away, blushing fiercely. "I can't discuss Konoha jutsus."

Yoko blushed too, but there was a sly glint in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean. I was just making conversation." She took his hand and squeezed it gently. "Are you ready to leave Sensei?"

He looked up, her eyes were as round and innocent as ever. "But shouldn't I speak with your father first?"

"He had to leave the Island last night. We should take advantage of the good weather, if a storm blows up we could be trapped here for days."

With a bow of acknowledgement he shouldered his pack and she led him down the long road to the boat.

Two men watched them leave from inside the castle. The frail looking elderly bit a dumpling from the skewer he was holding. "Well it's up to her now."

The one in the star covered robe turned towards him, his expression hidden under his long hair. "Do you doubt her abilities?"

"No, but she's right. There's something different about this one, he's strong." He brushed a lock of his hair, white and wispy, out of the way as he went back to his dumplings.

Somehow the island seemed harsher and wilder than Iruka remembered. The grass was thinner, with patches of rough stone showing through and the trees less majestic, more windswept. It was probably just his mood. He was starting to dislike the whole place. Therefore it was with a sense of relief as well as nervous anticipation that he climbed into the motor launch for a second trip over the tops of the waves, then on to Hidden Waterfall. He hoped Kakashi was home, if not he hoped he was somewhere happier than this island. But wherever he was he just hoped he was safe.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi looked around, amazed. The tunnel was like a street, with caverns leading off from it at intervals, carved into the rock. A tavern, shops, even a ramen stall, each with a cluster of customers, there was a whole village under the sand. The woman led him to a doorway and ushered him into a cozy room. She left him sitting on a cushion while she bustled around a small stove, boiling water then whisking up fine green powder to make tea.

Plump and wrinkled as she was, Dakatsu was obviously comfortable in her body and with her age. Her honest self-acceptance gave her a certain radiance that could be called beauty, far more so than Tsunade with her false youth. Kakashi watched her wide solid hips swaying as she moved and he couldn't help feeling something close to affection, although he had known her for less than an hour. Something about this strange woman made him feel unusually safe and relaxed, despite more than two decades of highly trained wariness and his natural paranoia. In the wrong circumstances she would be a formidable enemy.

Finally she put a tray with two cups and a plate of small cakes on the floor in front of him, then sat on a cushion opposite.

"Dig in lovey, don't be shy. You must be hungry coming all the way from Konoha, and you look as if you could use a bit o' meat on those bones."

She picked up her teacup and when she looked back at the copy nin, he was chewing and the plate was half empty.

"Verygoodf, excfellent. He mumbled past his mask.

They were too, honey, almonds and another flavour he couldn't identify. Delicious, and nutritious. The perfect light, compact food to carry in the desert.

Dakatsu laughed easily, her eyes disappearing into her face to become the centres of two circles of radiating lines.

"Finish then off dearie, I'll get you some cheese to cut the sweetness."

Another dozen cakes and some ripe goat cheese later he was starting to like this mission after all. He eased the edge of his mask over the rim of his teacup and drained it.

"I suppose you know why I'm here."

The ruddy face turned serious. It didn't suit her. "Yes, that message I sent to young Gaara. I were down in the port, coupla months ago now, had some stuff to take care of. Trading goods, buying stuff for the clan. Well I heard someone talkin' about a plan to get summat into Konoha. Just a coupla chaps whispering down by the quays, but a rough pair, I didn't like the looks o' them I don't mind telling you. I wouldn't o' thought much of it 'cept a few weeks later I'd been out and around and were on my way back here when I saw Hidden Leaf Village, right out here in the heart o' the desert. 'Sif they'd moved every last brick over here in the night. I came back here for some o' the lads but when we got back to the place it were gone."

Kakashi knew her better already than to suggest she might have gone back to the wrong place. This woman knew her desert. "A genjutsu?"

She shook her head. "Don't think so laddie, solid as stone. Poked around for a good while. And why would anyone go casting illusions on me?"

'They could want this mine, and the stones you find here. Opals?"

The woman looked at him sharply for a moment then the broad grin spread over her face again. "Got sharp eyes haven't you dearie? Or should I say eye." She chuckled at her own joke. "Not so likely. There's no one knows where we are, not even you. Far as anyone's concerned the Clan o' the Desert Snakes still finds their jewels by wondering over the sand. 'Course we still do find a few that way. Too hard a life to attract outsiders."

"This 'village' you saw, there were people in it?"

"Not many, I seed some movement, they was running around with summat, summat right heavy."

"And you're sure it was Konoha."

"Oh yes dear, of that I am sure. I were in Konoha once, a long time ago. Invited to watch the chuunin exam, being the daughter of the clan chief and all. I were a bit lost at first, you know, the little red haired girl from the desert all alone, but a young chappie called Jiyaira took up wi' me. Showed me a real good time."

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "I bet he did."

She didn't seem to catch the snide remark. "Everything about it were exactly the same. I got a good memory for places. You die if you don't out here, where the sands all looks pretty much the same. Konoha's the only village I were ever in 'cept Suna a few times, and the port a'course. I'd have known it anywhere."

"So they were carrying something heavy and you'd heard talk of someone planning to get something into the village."

Dakatsu nodded thoughtfully. "Jus' 'bout sums it all up lovey. Sorry but I can't tell you no more'n that. Now would you like some more tea?"

A dry run. Kakashi thought to himself. A life size model of Konoha, either spun from illusions or created from the sand, out in the desert where they wouldn't expect anyone to stumble on it. To practice a sneak attack with something heavy. Like a bomb. There'd been rumours of explosions. But who and why? He needed more information, and to get that he'd have to go where the rumours had started, the port.

"I've got to go." He said reluctantly.

Dakatsu levered herself to her feet. "Want me to send a couple o' lads with you, to show the way?"

"No, I'll be fine, and I'll travel faster alone."

She laughed, a merry throaty sound. "Daresay's you can dearie. I remember you ninja boys and girls fairly flying over them rooftops. Now that were a sight to see."

She led him back though the tunnels of the mine, bandaged his eyes, then guided him up the ladder at the side of the shaft and out into the desert heat. Even through the blindfold the light was dazzling after the cool dim village under the sand. They walked as before, accompanied by her friendly chatter. Eventually she removed the bandage and looked at him for a moment with kind blue eyes.

"This is the exact same place I found you, you sure you know the way from here?"

"Yes quite sure, I'll be fine."

Suddenly she reached up and ruffled his untidy hair and pulled him against the pillowy softness of her breasts, hugging him surprisingly hard. "Now you be careful mind. That ports a rough place, not safe for a nice looking young man like you."

As she pulled away Kakashi was tempted to laugh, until he saw the genuine concern in her face. "I'll be careful, I promise."

She squeezed his hand one last time and looked up at the sky. "Well at least it won't rain again afore you gets there." She took a flask and a bag that smelled strongly of honey and almond from under her cloak and pushed them into his hands. "Take these lovey, just a bit o' something to help keep you going along the way."

Then she pulled her hood over her face and almost vanished against the dunes, before turning away and walking into the sun without looking back. Leaving him alone on the burning sand.

It was still a long way to the port, but if he hurried he'd be there before moonrise.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka and 'Yoki' crossed the Bridge and headed towards the Fire Country border. He watched her familiar easy grace as she walked ahead of him. Her silver white hair, her boyish build. That must have been just the way Kakashi had looked before he grew into his man's body.

Iruka had been attracted to other males for as long as he could remember. He liked girls, always had, but not _that_ way. His first crush had been on the boy down the street, when he was six. He would rush home from the academy every day to play with him, until his friend's parents had grown nervous about their son getting hurt by the 'little ninja' and had kept him away. He'd been inconsolable for a week. Later, in the dark days after the kyuubi, he'd been the kid who would let the other boys touch him. Girls too sometimes, but just for show. Goofing around, trying to be noticed, but not really. In truth he's thrilled at having their hands on his body, even if it did make him feel used and guilty.

Kakashi was different, the ultimate equal opportunity pervert. He just liked sex, if he found someone attractive and they were willing, he screwed them. Men and women. Plenty of each. At least that had been his reputation and Iruka had no reason to question it. Iruka had no idea why it had been different with him, why by some miracle Kakashi actually loved him back. Because he did. His lover had never been unfaithful to him and nothing else could explain _that._ God knows he had enough opportunities, every day.

Yoko turned back to look at him. "Isn't this great, it's such a relief to get off that pokey little island." She must have noticed something in his look. "Why? What is it?"

"Oh nothing, just something about you reminded me of someone for a moment." Try as he might he couldn't suppress the blush.

She waited for him to catch up then smirked up at him, eyes shining. "I see."

He looked away reddening further and strode ahead. "Come on _Yoki_ keep up. I want to get to the other side of Fire Country by nightfall."

She fell into step beside him. "Yes Sensei. The other side of Fire Country by nightfall."


	4. Chapter 4

Kakashi had _never _liked the desert, and every time he had to cross it he liked it just a little bit less. His pale skin and remaining blue eye were suited for sunlight filtered through trees, not reflected at full blinding intensity from scorching sand. Why couldn't these rumours have come from Rain Country, or Waterfall? Well at least he couldn't complain about the cold.

It was flat too, and it was hard to scan such a wide horizon with a single eye. So he heard them before he saw them. Of course they were well camouflaged, tucked into hollows under the dunes, covered in their sand-coloured cloaks. They wouldn't have been easy to spot with two eyes, but they had no stealth. By the time he was within a hundred yards of the first he'd marked out the hiding places of seven others. That meant there were probably about twelve in all.

Merging into the bank of sand behind him he stopped and focussed. The heavy smell of oil and the spicier scent of cordite prickled his nose. So they had firearms, probably automatic. Powerful guns, but he'd dodged bullets plenty of times before, silent weapons were much more dangerous to a ninja. And he doubted that they were lying in wait for _him_, but still, it made sense to be cautious. He knew he shouldn't have been so reckless in that damn storm, if someone had spotted him it was his own damn fault. A lone shinobi would normally be carrying a message, and picking off a courier then selling the message to the highest bidder was an easy way for an outlaw gang to make some quick money.

As he cut across to the east, he heard the pattern of someone's breathing change, becoming harsh and ragged. Poor fool must have discovered he was sharing his hiding place with a snake, or a scorpion. Another rustled with a slight shift in position. Good, so far no sign that they'd seen him. By staying in the shadows of the dunes he should be able to skirt around, and they'd never even know he'd passed.

Then he tripped on the wire.

Fuck. It had been almost invisible against the bright sand. Not that that was any excuse, he hadn't been looking. Since when did desert bandits use traps sprung by chakra wires anyway? He leapt away as the ground caved in under him, So much for slipping past unnoticed. The trap was unsophisticated but solid, it could have caught someone of lesser skill. And it was a live-catch trap too. Very unusual. Desert bandits didn't usually have any interest in prisoners.

He saw the second wire easily but tripped it anyway. Served them right, now they'd have to go to the trouble of setting them both up again. As he scooted away from the steel net, he hopped onto the high point of a dune, deliberately allowing himself to be seen. Now, if that was the end of it he'd be on his way, if not… well they'd soon learn who they were dealing with.

Within a few seconds a staccato blast of automatic gunfire rattled the air. There was his answer. But the shooter, tucked into a hollow less than two hundred feet away and slightly to the left, had fired way above his head. Either he had really lousy aim or he just wasn't trying. Did they really think he'd fall to the ground and grovel in fear? He picked up a pebble and, giving it just enough spin to make it travel in a straight line, flipped it straight into the barrel of the gun. He paused as he heard the weapon explode, along with a more satisfying explosion of curses. One down.

Five figures broke cover and fled in the opposite direction. He let them go. Then angry orders were barked from the far side of a nearby dune. Well that was unwise, but he'd been pretty sure there was someone there anyway. They were followed, seconds later, by a choked yell from the same dune as his shuriken hit. Two down. Maybe now, with their leader gone, the rest would leave too.

None such luck. All hell broke loose. He teleported away before the first bullet pock marked the sand, so they were shooting to kill now, and landed staring down at the toughest looking woman he'd ever set eyes on. If she arm wrestled Tsunade he wouldn't know which one to bet on. Hell if she arm wrestled Gai he wouldn't know which one to bet on. He watched her lob a grenade into the sand where he'd just been standing, idly noticing the scorpion brand on the back of her right hand. As it exploded, sending a jet of sand into the air that sank back as a thick yellow cloud, he slid into position behind her and tapped a shoulder. She turned in confusion and he put a finger to his lips before binding her securely with stout rope. Three down.

The woman sucked in a huge lungful of air. "The fucker's here, over here!"

Well if she was in a loudness contest with Gai he _would _know which one to bet on, should have used a gag. He shook his head, put his finger to his lips again, and hopped into plain sight at the top of the dune.

As his clone disintegrated under the barrage of fire he unleashed a shower of kunai from his position crouched low on the sand fifty feet away.

Silence.

No not quite, a stifled whimper and a gurgle. So… four kills and a hit.

With a swirl of sand he appeared in front of the woman, squatting down so that they were eye to eye as she sat propped where he'd left her.

"Why did you attack me? What is it you think I might have?"

She turned her head sharply, breaking eye contact. "Get the hell away from me. I never wanted to go after weird fucking freaks like you in the first place,"

Kakashi put his hands over his heart in a mock gesture of hurt. "I hardly think you're in a position to give _me_ orders. So why did you and your, er, friends set up this ambush."

"This is scorpion territory now, anyone who comes to this well is ours. It's none of your goddam business."

He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eye. "You call me a freak and yet _you_ used ninja traps. Where did you get them from?"

He could smell the fear pouring off her body. "I'm not telling you a damn thing so just go ahead and kill me, get it over with."

Kakashi rolled the handle of a kunai between his fingers. She raised her chin stiffly, bracing for the blow.

He slashed down in a single cut, severing the ropes.

"Two of your comrades are alive but injured. You should help them get back to… to… _where the hell did desert bandits live anyway?_ To your thieves' den."

He wandered away to retrieve his weapons and left her to deal. They'd taken up too much time already. If there was a well here, that explained the position of the ambush, but he was surprised enough travelers came this deep into the desert to make it worthwhile. The port must have got pretty damn rough if people went this far out of their way to avoid it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

For Iruka, escorting Yoko across Fire Country was a pure delight. They stayed in character, sensei and student, carefully avoiding the few farms and villages where his face was known. Yoko kept the conversation between them lively by asking questions, but no more questions about Konoha. Instead she asked general stuff, about trees, clouds, the different songs of birds they heard in the forest. Exactly the kind of things that he loved to share the most. It was a teacher's holiday. A day spent teaching the stuff of life instead of just how to stay alive.

At midday they stopped to eat at a roadside inn where the owner's pretty young daughter, a girl of about thirteen, waited on them. She fell for Yoko or rather Yoki, like a ton of bricks. Hovering around her, sneaking extra treats onto her plate and casting longing glances in her direction. Iruka wasn't a bit surprised, he was used to Kakashi getting that kind of attention from women all the time and Yoki _was_ a lot like Kakashi. If she really had been male, had looked a few years older, and he wasn't already taken, he might be interested himself. Yoko took it in her stride, flirting back just enough to flatter the girl's ego, but not enough to lead her on. Iruka was impressed. She really was a sweet young woman. If he wasn't gay, _and_ already taken, he would _definitely_ be interested in her himself.

As they moved towards the Fire Country border he became more cautious. This was where he would earn his fee. The old conflicts with Hidden Cloud and the more recent ones with Hidden Sound had made the areas to the Northeast lawless and dangerous. Their old enemies were more than willing to allow bandits a safe place to raid villages and travelers from. It drew resources from Konoha and attention away from them. But so far so good.

The trees thinned as the terrain became rougher and the soil poorer. Iruka felt painfully conspicuous. No mere rabble would dare attack a woman protected by a high ranking Konoha nin wearing the well recognised leaf headband. But a man and a boy alone on the road would look like easy prey. What was The Lord of Wolf Island thinking, setting things up this way? As the sun set behind them his anxiety grew. So it was with considerable relief that, as they rounded a hill, he saw the place he planned to spend the night. A shrine with a small monastery. It couldn't have more than a dozen monks, but the monks were from an ancient order and well versed in martial arts. No one would bother them there. Iruka had stayed at the monastery with Kakashi a few years before. When his lover had arranged to meet him, semi-secretly, on his way home from a mission.

Iruka swallowed hard as they entered the shrine. Despite his relief a distinctly uneasy feeling clawed at the pit of his stomach. At the time neither he nor Kakashi had worried too much about what the monks might think of the sounds coming from the room they were sharing, although he was pretty damn sure they must have known it wasn't meditation. And now he was showing up with a teenage 'boy'. Oh well, maybe they wouldn't recognise him dressed like this.

They did.

"Umino-san, we are honoured that you grace us with your presence again," the abbot said, smiling with professional pleasantness. "And you have a new apprentice I see. It's good that you are passing on your master's skills."

"My master?" Iruka was puzzled, then blushed as understanding washed over him. "Oh." Kakashi _was_ a jounin and not just any jounin. "Er, Hatake-san isn't really my master, although I suppose he _has_ taught me a lot."

"Oh I'm quite _sure_ he has."

Iruka thought he caught the shadow of a smirk cross the monk's passive face. He blushed deeper, desperately hoping that Yoko hadn't picked up on that particular innuendo.

She hadn't. She'd picked up on something much more interesting. So this Konoha sensei had trained with the famous Sharigan Hatake. In that case he had more to offer than she'd dare hope.

After a simple meal they were shown to their rooms. Iruka had absolutely insisted that they _did _need to sleep separately and the abbot had insisted on explaining, no fewer than three times, that the rooms were next to each other and had a connecting door.

The first time Yoko came into his room was 'just to check it out'. The second time to ask if he had anything she could use to soothe the blisters on her feet. The third time she ran in screaming wearing nothing but her underwear and an unbuttoned shirt. He removed the spider from her mattress and tossed it out of the window.

"Please try to sleep now Princess," he said patting her shoulder cheerfully, "we have a long way to go tomorrow."

She waited until he had closed the door behind him, buttoned the shirt over her breasts, then scowled and tossed a jar containing a much bigger spider out of the window.

Iruka sighed and dragged a large chest, the only furniture in the room, in front of the door. When he turned around the abbot was standing in his doorway watching. For the first time he noticed that the man was much younger than he'd seemed at a first impression. Handsome too, in a classically chiseled, but very bald, kind of way.

"So this woman _is_ just another mission."

Iruka sucked in a breath. "You knew she was a woman all along?"

"Her aura screams 'feminine' more loudly than any I've ever felt. Even some of my monks had a hard time resisting her and they are all highly trained."

Iruka sat on the chest and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really trying to deceive you, I just thought it better for us to keep up the disguise."

The abbot walked over and sat next to him. He stretched his arms, then let them fall, one on the chest beside him and the other on Iruka's thigh. Iruka froze. He could feel its heat, a handprint of fire, through the cloth. The monk smiled indifferently, as if he hadn't noticed that the teacher's thigh was between his hand and the chest. Then, without warning, he slid it upwards to land somewhere much more intimate.

"Your aura's screaming too. And _I _don't want to resist."

Iruka suddenly became aware of the man's strength, the bulk under his monk's robe clear evidence of a powerful well-muscled body. He leapt up, inwardly cursing at the involuntary response that was obvious from the bulge in the front of his pants.

"No! It's just that Kakashi's been away, it doesn't mean that I'll… I'm not that needy."

For the first time an actual expression registered on the monk's face. Surprise. "You mean you're _still_ with Hatake!"

Iruka felt his blood rush to his cheeks. "Yes, I'm his, only his."

The abbot laughed loudly. There was a noise from the other side of the connecting door. Iruka's eyes went round in horror, had Yoko been able to hear them? They both held their breath. Then the monk stood and slowly walked over to the flustered teacher.

He whispered in his ear. "And you really believe that he's yours?"

The answer came without hesitation. "Yes!"

A soft hand stroked over silky dark hair then traced a line behind an ear and down a tan throat. "Umino-san, I've known Kaka-kun since we were boys, he just isn't like that."

Iruka pulled his head away and stepped back, rage swelling inside him. "He is now."

The monk was clearly using all his training to suppress his laughter. "And he's away how often? And for how long?" He allowed himself a long lecherous look at the delectable young man standing beside him, oozing sexual desire and shaking with fury. Then left as silently as a ghost.

Iruka threw himself on the bed fully dressed. Too agitated to sleep but too exhausted to stay awake.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi was almost exactly right. By the time he could see the points of light and outlines of buildings against the dark sky, the moon was just hovering above the horizon. Looking abnormally large and bright in the clear desert air.

Port Kaizoku, the wildest, most outlaw place on the whole continent. Anything or anyone could be bought or sold here. Technically it was in the territory of Hidden Sand, but was too far from anywhere for its inhabitants to be threat to anyone but each other. So for generations there had been a tacit agreement among the Villages to leave the place alone. Flushing out the human vermin who lived here would just make them more of a problem closer to home.

Kakashi entered the outskirts, past dark shuttered warehouses guarded by fierce half-feral dogs. Already the air was filled with the distinctive smells of a busy port: rust, tar, salt, sewage, rotting fish and vegetables, and the sulfurous odour that clung to all desert cities. As he wound his way towards the quays the open doors of other buildings added their contribution to the heady mix. The tobacco smoke and alcohol of the bars, the burned poppy of the opium dens and the cheap perfume of the brothels.

He was here for information, reliable information. Where the hell would he start? Unexpectedly he caught another, sweeter scent in the air. Incense. So someone was trying to bring God to even this godless place. Giving in to his curiosity he followed it to a small shrine set back from the road between a casino and a boarded up, burned out shell that had once been a bar. There was a large bronze Buddha with a screen beside it, through which he could see the outline of a man deep in meditation. This looked like someone whose information could be depended on. Kakashi sat down silently and waited.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was dark when the abbot's presence in his room woke Iruka from his fitful sleep. He got ready to reject another sexual advance but the other man's intent told him that there was a much greater danger.

"Who _is_ the woman you brought here?'

Iruka knew that he had to tell the truth. He sat up on his mattress, pulling his feet under him. "She's the Princess of Wolf Island in Wave Country. We're on our way to Hidden Waterfall."

"Who knows you're here?"

"No one. A few in Konoha know about the mission and I suppose her family too, but no one knows exactly where we'd be and when. I didn't know myself."

The abbot frowned. "Wolf Island? Even so, this just doesn't add up. Someone has cast a genjutsu around the shrine, we're surrounded by strange mist."

"A genjutsu? But who'd attack us here? Why not wait until we're on the road again tomorrow?"

The other man shook his shaved head. "You say you brought _her_, not the other way round?"

"Yes, of course. Why would she come here?"

"Because this place is where the legend of Wolf Island began."

The Abbot sat on the floor next to him, eager to share the shrine's history. This particular legend was the reason he'd come here himself. His eyes shone in the darkness.

"It's an old legend, not well known to anyone but the monks here, about a monk and a wolf. It starts with the monk finding a wounded she-wolf, out there by the roadside. Because he was a gentle and kindhearted man he took her back to his shrine, this shrine, and nursed her back to health. Then, when she was strong enough he released her in the mountains. But that night he saw a white shadow prowling around the grounds. She'd followed him back home."

Iruka grinned nervously, but politely. If they were under attack it hardly seemed the time to tell fairy stories. But the abbot had an urgent edge to his voice, as if he felt this was something that needed to be told. "Did the wolf want to stay? Had he tamed it?"

"No the wolf was the wildest creature in these mountains. She came back because she wanted to be human."

"Human?"

"Yes, she was lonely, she was the only survivor of her pack, the rest had been killed by hunters. So she decided to become human so she would never be alone again. But wolves can't transform the way foxes can, to take human form she needed to steal a human soul. She'd planned to seduce the young monk and to rip out his throat while his defenses were down, while they were making love."

"But she didn't."

"She couldn't. The time she'd spent lying in his arms as he'd cared for her had caused her to respond to some of his human emotions. She closed her jaws against the skin of his neck, but couldn't tighten them. You see, at that very moment she realised that she'd fallen in love with the young monk."

"So the legend says that the she-wolf and the monk became lovers?"

"Yes, but only in his dreams. The wolf came back every night and they loved each other as a man and a woman, but only while he slept, it was the only place they could be together. The monk's waking life became a nightmare for him, he lived in desperate fear of the wolf being killed, but she was still a wild animal and wouldn't stay where she'd be safe. The monk drew on his spiritual powers, he summoned spirits and demons, and made all kinds of forbidden promises if they would only make her human, but to no avail. Eventually she couldn't stand the heartbreak of waking each morning still in her wolf's skin. She left their newborn son at his door and disappeared."

"So what happened to the monk?"

"He left this shrine and secluded himself on a wild island in what is now Wave Country."

Iruka's eyes opened wide in understanding. "Wolf Island."

"Yes. Their son became the first Lord of Wolf Island, the leader of a great clan. But a clan equally cursed and blessed by his mother's fierce wildness, and his fathers meddling in dark sorcery. They fought amongst themselves, shed each other's blood, and their own. Eventually they dispersed all over the continent, I didn't know that they were still on the island too. But it's said that all wolf clan descendents wherever they are, still bear the mark of the she wolf, her silver-white hair."

Iruka traced a finger around one of the buttons on his mattress in a lazy spiral. "So that's why Ookami Yoko has white hair."

"Yes. They're beautiful aren't they? These wolf descendents. Well you'd better go in there and do your job. Isn't protecting her your mission?"

Iruka nodded. He unblocked the door, opened it, and silently sat on the floor next to the sleeping woman.


	5. Chapter 5

Iruka woke up, in bed, with Yoko, and she was naked. God no! He couldn't have, wouldn't have, especially not with a woman. Her arms were still around him. He carefully removed them and slipped out of the room, numb with horror. Yoko opened one eye to watch him go, smiling wistfully. Close. Next time she'd have him.

The abbot was waiting for him. He saw the look on Iruka's face and Yoko through the open door.

"Still so loyal to Hatake? The chakra you're shedding everywhere must be effecting her too, and she's a princess, probably used to getting everything she wants." He waited for Iruka to close the door then moved closer, putting him inside his aura. "The frustration will only get worse, let me ease it for you. Please? I'll be very gentle and you'll feel _so_ much better."

Iruka teleported to the far side of the room. "No! Kakashi and I... we… we've been apart longer than this before. I don't like it but I can handle it."

The abbot stared at him coolly, despite the colour in his cheeks. "Maybe. But can the rest of us handle you?"

Iruka was startled by the careful man's sudden bluntness. "Is my control really that bad?"

"I think you should leave as soon as you're ready. If it wasn't for my training I'd have you nailed to the wall by now." The strain showed through his smile.

The teacher bowed stiffly, fighting against the humiliation that was threatening to drown him. "I'll wait outside by the road. Please tell Yoki-san to join me as soon as she, er, he is ready."

In his agitation he didn't notice the shadows lurking nearby. Yoko did. She dispersed them with a sharp gesture before approaching Iruka and taking his hand.

"The abbot told me what happened last night." Iruka turned pale as Yoko continued. "Thank you for protecting me. For staying by my side through the danger."

The Abbot had told her? So she didn't remember anything either, whether they'd... Maybe the mist he'd mentioned had something to do with it. Iruka couldn't look at her. Right now he'd give anything to be risking his life deflecting stray kunai thrown by Konoha's next generation of potential nins.

"I'm just doing the job I've been paid to do."

She pouted prettily. "That's all?

He tried not to blush, and failed miserably, as he finally met her eyes. "I'm a shinobi escort. It would be unprofessional to do any more or any less."

The pout turned into a smile. She may even have winked. "I understand Sensei."

They set off along the road, Yoko almost dancing ahead of him. Iruka was glad they hadn't stayed at the shrine for breakfast. If the taste of a couple of standard ration bars didn't dampen her high spirits nothing would.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi woke up suddenly. The cold metallic heaviness around his wrists and ankles told him that he was chained down securely. This wasn't good. The heaviness in his head told him he was drugged. Not good either. So the incense at the shrine was used to cover the smell of something much more potent. Not a shrine at all but a safe-seeming haven to lure poor gullible fools who'd found their way into Port Kaizoku. Stupid kids seeking adventure and naïve innocents who thought they'd find an actual priest in this place. Like him. Well Dakatsu had warned him.

So what the hell was going on? Wasn't this the second attempt in as many days to capture him? Although by the look of things this time it had gone way beyond an attempt. Who on earth was behind them? Of course he knew of plenty of people who wanted him dead, for a wide variety of reasons. Or who simply wanted the honour of killing him. But alive? Well… not so many.

He started to form the fingers of one hand into a seal.

"Don't waste your time with that magic stuff ninja-boy, we've got you sealed."

Kakashi slitted his eye open and peered in the direction of the voice. The bulk of a rhinoceros was sprawled in a chair to his left. A cigar tip glowed in the gloom as he watched. Strange that he hadn't noticed its smell, or the smell of the animal for that matter, even drugged. He wrinkled his nose, obviously he'd got too used to chakra enhanced senses. So that meant his chakra _was_ sealed, they must have a jutsu scroll on him somewhere. Stolen or blackmarket. Definitely not good. Tensing his muscles he felt a prickle against his thigh and another at his ribcage. At least they hadn't found all his weapons. Finally something positive.

Suddenly he couldn't resist laughing, it was funny. Of all the impossible situations he'd got himself into and out of over the years. To find himself chained down in this hole, guarded by a cigar smoking rhinoceros, was… funny. "What do you want with me?"

The beast laughed too, heartily, its rolls of flesh quaking like a sack of jello. "Pretty boy like you has to ask?"

"Pretty? A one eyed shinobi with an ugly scar on his face?"

Kakashi shifted slightly on the bench he was chained to so that his right hand drooped off its edge. His hand moved reluctantly, as if it wasn't his, as if it was a puppet and he was pulling strings from the other side of the room, strings made of rubber.

The animal grunted as it pulled itself to its feet, then waddled over. It pulled up the Leaf headband and yanked down the mask. Kakashi noticed that it had fingers instead of hooves, he laughed again, but stopped abruptly as a grey horn was pushed into his face.

"Looks like there's an eye there to me."

"Yeah but it's not real. Take a closer look." He opened his left eye.

"Hey look at that, one blue and one brown. You couldn't find a better match?"

Fuck. His chakra was sealed pretty damn tight if the sharigan wasn't active. Out of sight he flexed and twisted his wrist, worrying at the lock.

"It's a big scar but it ain't so bad. The boss'll be here soon and I don't think One Eyed Dick will care."

"Your boss has one eye too?"

The rhinoceros laughed again, poisoning the air around Kakashi's face with foul tobacco breath. "Naw, he's got two eyes but his dick's only got one, if you know what I mean. Little Gep'll be glad, gives him the night off."

Kakashi managed not to flinch. He let his head roll back making his unmasked mouth gape open an inch. Every perspective in the room warped and shifted at the movement.

"You're not even gonna steal a kiss first? I suppose a big guy like you can do better than spoiled goods like me."

A lustful haze misted over the animal's bead-like eyes. Kakashi smirked inwardly, so he'd guessed right.

"Well normally I like girls, given a choice, but I gotta say there's something about you. I almost envy the boss on this one."

It slowly, suggestively, rubbed its hand up and down the length of the horn on his snout and opened its black slit of a mouth, showing uneven yellow-stained teeth. Then leaned forward.

Kakashi saw a slimy spotted tongue reaching for his lips. He flicked off the chain and had the kunai between the beast's ribs before it made contact. The huge animal reared up and staggered backwards, falling into its chair. The little black eyes registered shock as it stared at the growing circle of red on its chest. Kakashi snatched a needle from inside his jacket. His feet seemed a long way away. He crawled towards them and used it to pick the locks on his ankles. The second lock snapped open just as the rhinoceros bellowed and came pounding across the floor towards him.

Fuck, too much flab. The blade hadn't gone deep enough to hit any organs. Swinging his feet to the ground Kakashi pulled the bench, which was still chained to his left wrist, between them. The dingy room swirled around him and he locked his knees to stop them from buckling. Double fuck. Without chakra the only way he could hope to defeat a monster like this was with speed, but with so much drug in his system he might not have that. He pulled the bench on end, using it as equal parts support, barrier and weapon. As the animal hit, he threw his weight behind it and crashed it into it, using their combined force to drive the kunai deeper into its chest.

They both went down. Kakashi rolled off snatching back his weapon, he might need it again, then pulled his disobedient legs under him in a crouch. But the huge body on the floor made no attempt to come after him this time. It lay, face distorted in pain, gasping and gargling. A sucking chest wound. Still not a vital hit but he'd punctured the beast's chest cavity. The wretched thing would either suffocate or drown in its own blood, either one was a horrible way to die. Supporting himself on the hand still attached to the bench, the copy nin knelt next to it and sliced the kunai across its throat. Crimson blood sprayed across the room then pulsed from the severed arteries, forming a surprisingly wide pool on the dirty floor. As the flow ebbed the rhinoceros's eyes focussed into a look of gratitude and then went blank.

Kakashi rolled back and lay still, trying to find his centre, as the ceiling circled in both directions at once. He had to get out. The boss was on the way, probably the rest of the gang too. There was no way he'd be able to fight them all, not like this. The glint of steel caught his eye from the corner of the room, his weapons. Dragging the bench with him he sorted through them, tucking each into its proper place on his strangely unfamiliar body. A few seconds working at the lock on his wrist with a needle freed him of the bench. That was a relief. His pack was there too, even better. Just as things were starting to look up he heard footsteps and voices. From the look of things he was in one of the buildings he'd passed on the outskirts of town, hardly the beaten track. That meant whoever, or whatever, was out there was coming for him.

There was no lock on the door but it didn't budge when he pushed it. So it was barred from the outside, an interesting way to protect contraband. Unless it was for human contraband. Maybe he could break it but if he injured himself trying he'd really be fucked. Literally. There was only one other way out, a bright dusty window high on the far wall. That was out of reach right now, he could barely touch it, even it he stacked up everything in the room, and as dizzy as he was he'd probably fall. He dragged the bench under the window, piled a few empty crates from the corner of the room onto it, and perched the chair on top. Taking a few steps back he launched a shuriken at the glass. The sound as it shattered was masked by the noise of the bar on the door scraping back, his cue to get into position behind it, a half dozen kunai in each hand.

The door creaked open towards him. At first Kakashi couldn't make out the white shape standing in the sunlight. Then as his eyes adjusted he saw a white horse with a flowing white mane. No a unicorn, he found himself looking for an eye on its horn. An involuntarily shiver went down his spine, he certainly didn't want to risk being reamed with that thing. It trotted into the room then stopped at the rhinoceros corpse. A dragon and an ape were outlined in the light behind it.

"Fuck he got away. That fucking seal we put in his shoe didn't work. Shitty so called sennin."

The dragon slithered forward. Kakashi could see a cigarette hanging from the corner of its mouth, maybe that explained the wisps of smoke as it spoke. "You sure it was the seal boss? I always said it was too risky going after these ninjas, even if the pay's good. I heard the scorpion gang ran into a white-haired guy out on the sands. Killed five of 'em before they knew what hit 'em."

The unicorn reared up and slammed a front hoof into the back of the dragon's neck, making it squeal with pain. "Scorpion gang! Bunch of stupid thieves, what do they know about pressing a man? Of course it was the seal! I shoved a whole damn ball of opium down his throat myself, there's no way he could have taken down Big Tomo without his weird fucking ninja powers."

Another shape became visible behind the ape, something delicate and slender with a shaggy crest of feathers around its head. A heron? A crane? It spoke with a slight lisp. "You really think he could have got out that window boss?"

The unicorn rounded on it angrily. "Of course he got out the fucking window, the door was still barred wasn't it? You two stay and clean up this damn mess, the rest get after him, he can't have gone far. He's still gotta be high as a kite, probably standing on the dock right now, fighting seagulls and cursing about flying nuns."

As the unicorn cantered away, the door slammed shut behind it and Kakashi found himself staring eye to eye with the dragon. It was a beautiful creature, silver grey with a metallic blue sheen, he reached out to touch the glittering scales on its neck. The dragon backed away nervously, bringing him back to what little senses he could muster. Three kunai left his hand and the dragon was pinned to the wall by one wing. Shit, lousy aim. And he was only a few feet from his target. Movement behind him drew his attention to the ape. Its dark shape was harder to see in the gloom after staring into the sunlight and it was about to pounce. He sprang out of reach just as the dragon pulled free and the two collided on the spot where he had been standing.

That gave him the moment he needed to kick off his sandals. The release as his chakra points opened was almost like sex. As his eyes came back to something closer to a focus, he saw the ape bearing down on him again, red pointed teeth bared menacingly. Did apes have red teeth? He didn't have time to ponder the question, within fractions of a second the multiple images formed by the sharigan had flooded his brain, clogging it with an impossible amount of information. He almost collapsed under the overload, no longer knowing what was real, where anything was, where _he_ was. Hands flashed through seals, were they his hands? If so he wasn't sure who was moving them. Then the whole building exploded in a kaleidoscope of coloured flames.

Ok, that was a lesson well learned, don't try higher level jutsus when stoned out of your gourd.

One-eyed Dick and his gang could hardly have missed _that_. Kakashi pulled his headband back into place to shut out some of the confusion. Now to find a safe quiet place to sleep off the rest of the opium, if such a place existed in this damned town. He picked up his sandals and pack and leapt for the closest intact roof.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka was trying hard to keep his distance from Yoko, to maintain the strictly professional relationship required between a client and a shinobi escort. It wasn't easy. She was flirting with him. In fact she was, without a doubt, flat out trying to seduce him. Stopping to rest often, and when they sat down leaning up against him, claiming she was tired. Loosening her clothing, claiming she was hot. And when they'd come across a small mountain lake, it was all he could do to keep her from taking her clothes off completely to bathe. She'd only stopped when he'd refused to stay there and guard her if she did, settling for taking off her pants, untying her hair so that it floated in a silver cloud around her shoulders and splashing her bare legs in the cool water. While he stared into the trees uncomfortably.

Several times he considered explaining that he just wasn't interested in girls that way. But he just didn't want to. It was none of her business, no one's business but his and Kakashi's.

If only Kakashi was with them now. He'd be able to tell him how to handle this. He dealt with unwanted advances all the time, deflecting them easily with a joke and a smile. Maybe he should try wearing a mask. However he couldn't help remembering what the abbot had told him, and feeling that he was really the one to blame. Why had his level of control suddenly become so poor that he was leaking sexual tension everywhere, tainting what had started out as a sweet and promising friendship?

At least they were finally closing in on Hidden Waterfall. He could smell the pine and junipers that grew in the higher parts of the mountains, and feel the added freshness in the air from the rushing water. A few more hours and this mission would be finished, he'd be able to leave.

He stiffened suddenly. There was a movement in the trees that didn't belong. A branch that was swaying, not with the breeze, but with the weight of a man. He grabbed Yoko roughly and teleported to a gap between two large boulders, the only defensible position within reach. Transforming a handful of smaller rocks into bushes for more cover, he stretched out his senses, trying to detect the presence on the far shore of the lake. He couldn't. There was something there, powerful chakra, but he couldn't make it out. But one thing was certain, whoever it was they weren't bandits, they were highly trained ninjas.

Signaling for Yoko to stay silent he whispered in her ear. "Keep still and let them pass. They aren't likely to be looking for us."

Perhaps it was a mistake hiding, but he'd acted on instinct. A team on a mission wouldn't be interested in civilian travelers. But the nearest village was Hidden Sound, and the shinobi scum that Orochimaru attracted might just kill them for target practice. On the other hand, if they'd seen them, and seen the jutsu, they'd have marked him as a potential enemy already. The only thing to do now was to wait and to hope.


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi slowly became aware that his clothes were wet. His first instinct was to blame his dogs, he really shouldn't let the puppies fall asleep on his lap. But there were no dogs around, and besides the smell was wrong. It was the cold smell of rust, not the potent tang of dog pee.

He was in a metal box, open to the sky at the top and with about an inch of water in the bottom, probably some kind of tank. Slowly unfolding his legs from their cramped position, he climbed out onto a rooftop. How the hell had he got up here?

The bright light was blinding and his vision blurred, but by squinting hard he was just able to get a fair impression of the surrounding area. It was like a war zone. One building was completely blown to bits, with fragments of concrete and wood scattered for hundreds of feet. The four around it were partly demolished and the roofs damaged on at least a dozen more. It looked like something Naruto might have done, who else had that kind of power?

The whole place seemed deserted so he jumped to the ground silently, glad to escape the heat up on the roof, which was unbearably intense. Even though from the position of the sun, it was still several hours before noon. So by his reckoning he'd lost a night and almost half a day. The marks on his wrists and ankles suggested that he'd been cuffed, surely he couldn't have been in a sex club? He hadn't done that in years and never on a mission. And where were his shoes?

After looking around, he jumped back onto the roof and found them in a corner of the water tank. Great. He hated having wet feet, but at least it wasn't cold. There was a piece of parchment tucked inside the sole of one sandal. He took it out and looked it over carefully. A jutsu scroll, but not one of his. In fact he had no idea where it could have come from, but he could feel its power. He hastily rolled it up, put a power seal on it and tucked it with the other scrolls in his front pocket. In a state of blissful ignorance he re-entered Port Kaizoku.

Now Kakashi _had_ been a ninja since early childhood so, by the time he'd turned the second corner, he knew perfectly well that he was being followed. What he couldn't tell was exactly what the hazy shadow was. It didn't seem to present any dangerous intent, and that worried him, _really_ worried him. He liked to know, hell with his level of skill he _expected_ to know, exactly what kind of threat he was dealing with. So when the dark shape followed him into an alleyway, he doubled behind in an instant and held a kunai to the back of its neck. It stopped then turned to face him. He blinked. A woman. Again. But this time it was a very small, very old woman.

Judging by the over-sensitivity of his normal eye he couldn't risk uncovering his sharigan. So he reached out to touch her wrinkled face and feel the crepey skin on her arms. No, it wasn't a henge, or an illusion.

Her mouth twitched as she stood still, allowing the indignity. "I think you'd better come with _me _young man."

He blinked again. She was being held at knifepoint, he was the ninja, and she was telling_ him_ what to do. He was getting this a lot recently.

"What did you say?"

"Anyone whose eye is _that_ dilated in _this_ light is in no condition to be wondering the streets. I dread to think what other one's like if you had to cover it up like that." The wrinkles on her ancient face rearranged into something that might have been a smile. "Come on along, I'll take you somewhere safe."

He was shocked at the suggestion, but practiced nonchalance and natural paranoia kept his voice calm and remote. "Why would you offer to take in a stranger? Particularly here?"

She grinned, showing more gaps than teeth. "Your smell."

He looked at her curiously. His smell? Just what the hell did that mean?

"Dakatsu's almond cakes. She must have taken quite a shine to you, she doesn't give them to just anyone."

Kakashi almost keeled over in relief. At last, a true friend. Someone whose information he could trust. He tucked away his weapon and grinned under his mask.

"Then let's go Granny. I'll share them with you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka was really starting to regret grabbing Yoko by the waist of all places. In the narrow space it had caused them to land with her on his lap and her bare legs hooked around his hips. To make matters worse she'd leaned forward onto his shoulder when he whispered and had never leaned back. The result was that they were clinched together in an extremely… provocative position. And he'd been trying to keep his distance.

This position was all too familiar. It was the way he sat on Kakshi's lap when he wanted to distract him. In the years they'd been together he'd learned that his genius lover's quiet calm covered a tumultuous ocean of much darker emotions, and by now he'd come to recognise when Kakashi was starting to slide into the pit of depression. God knows there was enough sadness in his past to brood on. It would have broken a lesser man. He never spoke about it, but there were times when his shoulders would droop and his jaw clench, more visible without the mask. Finally his eyes would become unfocussed so that the pain behind them showed through. Both eyes.

Iruka knew very well that he was the only one allowed to see the other man's heart this way, and he treasured it. Even though it tore him apart inside. He'd respond by crawling onto Kakashi's lap and hugging him close. Showing him the best way he was able, that even though his past had been hard and lonely, his present _and _his future were filled with companionship and love. Especially love. It always ended with sex.

As he was thinking he idly ran his fingers through the silvery hair at his shoulder and he felt his groin twitch.

Damn. He hoped Yoko hadn't noticed, he mustn't think about Kakashi like this. Not while he was holding her. It wasn't as if there was nothing _else_ to think about right now, the danger surrounding them for one.

"Come on out, we know you're here somewhere. You can't keep your position masked forever." It was the strong proud voice of a kunoichi.

So they _had_ seen them. And she was right he couldn't keep both of them hidden indefinitely.

"That fucking white haired bitch knows where my brother is, and his whole team. They disappeared right after she met up with us. You'll be next Shinobi-san. Come out and give her up. Do us both a favour."

As she moved closer he could make out her presence. There were others too, most likely a team of four. He had plenty of weapons but in civilian clothes he had no armour, although they didn't have to know that. If she was the team leader she probably outranked him too, so he had to pick off the others first. If he could face her on her own he might have a chance.

Yoko emerged from a cloud of smoke and dust and ran for her life while Iruka, in his chuunin uniform, stood blocking the kunoichi's path. Just as he'd expected, she was wearing the mark of Hidden Sound.

"So one of the pretty leaves from Konoha. Just what are _you _doing poking around here? Not that it matters. I'll get a nice bonus for taking you back with me, more if you're still alive. Orochimaru-sama is always reminiscing about what good guineapigs Leaf shinobi make. I'll kill the bitch for free… when I've finished with her."

Iruka hurled a hail of kunai. She blocked three, dodged four more but took the last in the muscle of her outer thigh, close enough to the bone to have nicked it. Her leg buckled for a fraction of a second before she redirected chakra to compensate.

"Well you've got guts, and speed. I think I should end this quickly."

A cloud of dust marked her teleportation to a hundred feet back down the road. So she was a distance fighter. Iruka mentally thanked Kakashi for all the times he'd scolded him for rushing in too fast. _'Always take the time to assess your opponents strengths and weaknesses. A few seconds could save your life, and your team's.' _

She scooped up a handful of dust and blew into it. Automatically Iruka directed more attention to the clone facing her, while maintaining his henge well enough to fool the others. He slackened his speed. A woman couldn't move this fast, even running for her life. His clone watched the puff of particles gradually swell into a cloud of buzzing insects that quickly engulfed it.

The first sting hurt, a lot, he slackened his connection just before the clone was dissolved by the poison from a thousand more. Six seconds, he duly noted. The transformation from dust to deadly had taken six seconds. That's how long he would have to take her down.

Iruka dropped his henge in favour of a substitution jutsu, as the two nins chasing him came within throwing distance. A log appeared on the path where Yoko's form had been and was instantly studded with weapons.

He watched impassively from the branches of a fir tree by the road. Good aim but they weren't holding their shuriken properly, he mentally took off three points out of ten. The two Sound nins seemed typical of the outcasts Orochimaru liked to recruit. Raw, but full of determination and gratitude. Only genin level skill, but their lack of formal training made them unpredictable, and therefore dangerous. Luckily raw untrained talent was something he had some experience with.

Two genins shouldn't be so hard too deal with. He dropped out of the tree behind one of them, then teleported away just as fast as the man slumped to the ground, to reveal a third ninja holding a bloody sword. The swordsman was good. Iruka could barely follow as he slipped from fighting stance into action to take off the second genin's head in a single cut.

So the odds had been evened. But the one man he was now facing was clearly a more dangerous opponent than both of the others put together. And _he_ didn't have a sword. But he had ninjutsus and genjutsus. Iruka filled the air with an illusion of falling leaves to cover his teleportation jutsu. Predictably the enemy glanced up towards the trees. Without coming within sword thrusting distance Iruka took advantage of the distraction to launch a dozen shuriken at him. From a dozen different clones. Each cut a little deeper than the one before, as the man's chakra shield failed. By the time Iruka was ready to throw a shuriken himself, the man lay dead. Four shadows retreated into the woods unseen.

Iruka looked down at the three fallen men. Why on earth had they turned on each other? Of course. He'd been henged into Yoko, a beautiful defenseless woman. His stomach tightened in disgust. And he hadn't believed his opinion of Sound nin's could get any lower. The scum had killed each other fighting over possession of a female prisoner.

The swordsman had no mark on his headband, must be a new recruit. Iruka picked up the sword and wiped the blood off it onto the man's leg. It was a good blade, very good. In fact much too good and too expensive for a Sound genin, and it looked almost new, so it couldn't be a family heirloom. But it would be useful, swordplay was one of his better skills. Not that he'd ever been able to beat Hayate, but then that was why Hayate had been a jounin and he wasn't. And Kakashi had given him a few private lessons since then too.

The Kunoichi was where he'd left her, waiting. "I'll enjoy this, Shinobi-san, haven't had a decent challenge in a while. Orochimaru-sama's been away working on new jutsu's for months and I'm bored with being patient."

Iruka scowled. Damn, she'd seen him already. He had to get in close before she had time to start her jutsu and she already had a pile of dust in the palm of one hand. He directed chakra down the edge of his blade, as Kakashi had taught him. It was a good sword, a very good sword, but was it of a high enough quality to stand up to this kind of use? The metal sang in a clear high pitch and a stream of energy blasted the dust from her hand. She dodged to the side as the sword's cutting force left a slash in the road where she'd been standing.

Yes it was.

Iruka used the opportunity to close the distance between them, but she'd anticipated his move and was already fifty feet away. Dangerously close to where Yoko was hidden. The kunoichi was still favouring her injured leg, so he might have the edge on her in speed, _if_ he had the opportunity to take advantage of it.

She was already reaching down to scoop up more dust, and he couldn't blast her there, not with Yoko so close. She puffed it into the air, and he watched in horrified fascination as it swirled into a dark cloud.

Six seconds. He was on her, with his sword through her gut, in one.

She laughed as she sank to her knees, fixing him with black waspish eyes. "You think that you've won? Why do you think I left Cloud for Sound? Don't you know that Orochimaru-sama can cure death? And you still have to face my babies." She disappeared leaving nothing but a bloodstain on the dusty road.

She was right. Iruka turned to face the buzzing cloud. It had switched direction and was bearing down on him. Four seconds at the most. He had to get them as far from Yoko as possible. Without another thought he raced forward, knowing what he had to do, destroy as many insects as possible before they were fully formed. Directing chakra to the sword he cut through them like a blur of silver death. Glittering black eyes, translucent wings and fierce hooked mandibles fell out of the air like rain where it passed. By the time they were fully armed with their poison stings, there were few enough for him to pick them off one at a time, spearing them with the sword's cutting force.

Staggering with exhaustion and gasping for breath, he went back to where Yoko had been hiding the whole time. The bushes reverted back to rocks and he offered a hand to pull her up from between the boulders. She didn't exactly look as if she'd been cowering in fear, in fact she seemed flushed with excitement. Was that from watching him fight?

"You were amazing Umino-sensei. I'm just glad you didn't believe her. Her lies about me I mean."

He leaned back against one of the boulders. "Of course not. I have more sense than to accept information from Hidden Sound at face value. But it wouldn't have mattered if I had. My mission is to protect you, even at the cost of my life. Protecting my village is the only thing that's more important than that right now."

Yoko stared into the distance for a moment, then turned to face him. "Oh, I see. You're very brave." There was an intensity to her expression that he hadn't seen before.

Reluctantly he pulled his tired body upright. "We need to keep moving. After this experience and last night's I'd really would like to get you inside the village defenses before it gets dark."

Yoko pouted and pulled on her pants. "Yes, of course you're right Sensei."

The Sound woman hadn't been lying he _would _be next. This man may be more resistant to her sex appealthan any she'd ever taken, and _he_ had to be the one to want _her_, that was the way it worked. But he would, they all did, it was only a matter of time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The little old woman led Kakashi through the narrow streets of the port to the very centre of the town, where the streets were at their very narrowest. The buildings seemed centuries old, some maybe even millennia. Tall mounds of mud and stone crammed side by side, holding each other up in defiance of the laws of gravity. Repaired and altered recklessly without any regard to their original form or the nature or colour of the building materials. The overall effect was a strange organic beauty, like a cluster of termite hills or some unusual kind of fungus.

She pulled him into a slit like opening between two of the buildings and then almost immediately into a doorway hidden behind a thick, dusty hanging. It was so dark that he was blinded after the bright sun outside. She seemed to know this and took his hand as she used the other to open a door with a large metal key strung on a chain around her neck. The heavy door creaked open.

"Duck down laddie, or you'll brain yourself."

He felt for the top of the doorframe with his free hand. Good thing she'd warned him, it was at least six inches shorter than he was.

"Rest yourself on the couch, it's about ten steps ahead of you. Wait 'til your eyes get accustomed and I let in some light. We're in the old part of the city here, you'll be safe. None of the outsiders know their way around here."

Kakashi followed her instructions, feeling ahead until his hands touched soft luxurious fabric. He turned and lowered himself onto it with a sigh of gratitude.

"Outsiders? You mean the pirates? But this is Port Kaizoku, the pirates have been here for hundreds of years."

"Hmphh, well there's those of us has been here a lot longer than that. This was a good place to live, a long time ago, a very long time ago. They never made their way into the city proper, these little streets are too easy to defend, lose your enemies in, if they don't know their way around. So they just built their own damned city around us. But there's plenty of the old families still here, in the city within the city, we takes good care of each other."

He felt her move a few feet away, there was a loud grating sound, and a shaft of sunlight opened into the centre of the room. Now he could see that the room was small and low ceilinged, except for the hole where light was shining through. It was cluttered with unfamiliar objects and ancient heavy furniture, like an eccentric's art collection, but his vision was still too blurred to see clearly.

"There, that's a bit better. Now let me take a look at those eyes." She sat next to him. " What did you do to this one that you have to cover it over like that?"

He raised his hand to his sharigan defensively. "Er, nothing. It's just very sensitive."

"Well I won't touch it if you don't want me too."

She stared into his other eye, covering it with her hand, then uncovering it and looking again. "Hmphh, not surprising you got into trouble, you need both eyes about you in this town. Did you see who jumped you? Looks like they doped you up pretty good."

Jumped? Someone had jumped him? That didn't seem likely. He shook his head.

"Don't remember a thing. I left Dakatsu yesterday, reached the port here after dark, then woke up on a rooftop."

She traced her finger around the Leaf insignia on his forehead protector. "Not one of Young Gaara's boys are you? So what are you doing here?"

He was uncomfortable with the interrogation, but if he wanted answers he would have to offer answers. And it was no secret that a shinobi wearing a Leaf headband was from Leaf.

"I'm from Konoha, Hidden Leaf, in Fire Country. There were rumours of a plot against us. I followed them here."

She snorted again, it seemed to be a habit, or maybe he amused her. "Hmphh. I wouldn't be so quick to trust those rumours. Dakatsu tells me Gaara's lost eleven people so far this year. Sand hasn't had that many go missing this past decade."

"You think they were drugged and kidnapped?" He still hadn't accounted for the desert bandits' attempt on him. Maybe they thought he was from sand?

"I just know what I'm told, and what I see. She said they were good loyal men and women. And some of the gangs have been strutting their stuff recently. Flashing a lot of cash. The Crew of the Mermaid bought up a whole brothel for a week, the most expensive one, with the prettiest girls, and boys. And the Mermaid hasn't left port in months so they didn't get rich from honest piracy."

Honest piracy? That was an interesting idea. But then he'd carried out plenty of assassinations without question, who knew how honest they were? "But why kidnap ninjas? Especially loyal ninjas. They'd have to be more trouble than they're worth."

"Can't tell you that dearie. But the story is they have a sennin working with them. Puts them under some kind of spell. Now how about those cakes you were going to share?"

A sennin, that was interesting. Could Orochimaru of Hidden Sound be up to his old tricks?

Kakashi pulled his pack towards him and reached inside for the honey cakes. Well at least _some_ of his instincts were still good. This was definitely someone who's information he could trust.


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. I chose Waterfall for this part of the story because its geographic location 'works'. But I haven't seen the Special Animé that deals with Hidden Waterfall, so if I have the details wrong it's because I, um, made them up.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun was tracking downwards by the time Iruka and Yoko heard the distant rumble of the falls. In another hour they saw it, a sheet of shining silver with clouds at its head and its feet, the latter arched over with rainbows. The air between hung heavy, filled with noise and mist, making the distance across the valley look impossibly far. They stopped to watch for several long minutes, held in the spell of its breathtaking beauty.

Iruka had heard about Hidden Waterfall, the most truly hidden of the hidden villages, and of its secret entrance. Part of him would dearly like to see what was beyond it, but by far the larger part just wanted to go home.

They followed the path down to the river that snaked across the valley floor thenwalked alongits bank to the wide pool that frothed and foamed at the base of the falls. Mist from the crashing water dampened their clothes and covered their hair with glistening droplets of water. Any closer and they wouldn't be able to hear each other above the noise.

Iruka took Yoko's hand. "My mission is almost over Princess. Will there be someone to meet you?"

Yoko froze. "Yes there should be a guard. But you can't leave now, who will take me home?" She tried to look as sweet and vulnerable as she could. His mission may be over but hers wasn't.

Iruka's heart, which had been rejoicing at the prospect of turning back towards Konoha and Kakashi, sank. "I… I thought you were staying, no one mentioned a return trip."

"Then it must be a mistake, my father will be happy to pay double, triple." Her pretty face puckered into a frown.

And Tsunade would be happy to accept it. Iruka couldn't keep the regret out of his voice. The best he could hope to do was to redirect it. "But I'm a Konoha chuunin, I can't go into another hidden village, not without permission."

The mist took on a definite reddish tinge. The sun must be lower than he'd realised.

"Of course you can, no one knows who you are, you're just my travelling companion."

"Yes, a travelling companion."

Just then a dark shape materialised out of the fog. A woman dressed in the simple dark clothes of a Hidden Waterfall jounin. Iruka felt strangely mute as Yoko stepped towards her.

"We're here to visit family in the village, please show us the way."

The woman looked back at Yoko, her expression vacant, she didn't seem to notice Iruka at all. "Of course, to visit family, follow me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi was feeling much better. His stomach was more settled after eating honey cakes with tea. He'd shown Elli, the Kaizukun woman, the flask of liquid too. She smiled in recognition, then explained that it was a mild stimulant distilled from the fruits of a desert tree. A secret known only to the Desert Snake Clan that could be a life saving energy boost in the desert. Naturally he was wary of trying it, feeling that there were still more than enough intoxicants in his system, but he'd trusted her this far. As she'd promised it cleared his head rather than clouding it, bringing him back the crystal clear thinking he was used to. Maybe he should save the rest for Tsunade? No, perhaps not, she would definitely take it the wrong way.

He turned over everything he'd learned so far in his mind, it was interesting, but didn't tell him anything about the threat to Konoha. Was he missing a connection somewhere?

"Who do you know of who might gain from an attack on my village?"

Elli's empty teacup clicked against the ornate marble table as she set it down and scrunched her thin lips into a line.

"The scum of the earth washes up on these shores laddie, could be any of them. Or could just be a rumour to get you people running out here so you can get picked up, one by one."

Picked up one by one? If someone was building a ninja army it was one way to get a steady supply of potential recruits. But no. Dakatsu had stumbled on that genjutsu by chance. If it was a trap they wouldn't have hidden it so deep in the desert, or by the cover of darkness. It wasn't supposed to be seen.

He started to stand. "In any case I have to see what I can find out. Thank you for your help and hospitality."

She shook her head, something in her dark eyes reminded him of a certain chuunin schoolteacher. "Not today you won't, you can't see half well enough yet. Rest up until tomorrow, or at least until dark."

He sat back down obediently. "You know you're a lot like Dakatsu."

An eyebrow rose into a question on her wrinkled face.

"You're both… kind. It's just not something I expect from strangers."

This time her face crinkled into a grin. "We've known each other a long time, Dakatsu and me. In-laws after a fashion. Her 'n my baby sister, they were together for more than thirty years."

So Dakatsu had lived with another woman for three decades. Jiraiya must have made _quite_ an impression on her.

The grin became fixed as Elli wiped a touch of moistness from her eyes to the back of one hand. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll go out for some fish to make us some supper."

Kakashi lay back on the silk couch, wishing with all his heart that he'd had a mother long enough to know if this was what being mothered was really like.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka had only the vaguest impression of the path through the waterfall. In fact the first thing he was completely aware of was the tree. The biggest oak he'd ever seen in his life, and in the forests of Konoha he'd seen some damn big ones. It stood close to a mountain lake, presumably the one that fed the great waterfall. The lake in turn was fed by many smaller waterfalls that formed bright streaks of gold as they spilled into it over the circular ridge of the valley, shining in the light of the setting sun.

So that was the Hero Tree. To his eye it looked less a hero than a tyrant. A giant brooding presence, offering protection and safety, but at a terrible cost. That was not true freedom. Yoko tugged his arm. He blinked, their guide had left and they seemed quite alone in the gathering dusk.

She laughed playfully but there was an urgent edge to her voice. "Come on, let's get to the place where we'll be staying."

She led the way with the ease of someone who knew exactly where she was going, as if she was going home. He followed with light-headed, unquestioning obedience.

Soon she stopped at a small house, whitewashed and red-tiled like most of the buildings in the village, but hardly the place where a princess' family would live.

A woman opened the door as they approached.

Yoko bowed politely. "My name is Ookami Yoko. Is this the Mokkou residence? My father told me that I should stay with you if I was ever in Hidden Waterfall. He's an old friend of Mokkou-san."

The set of the woman's jaw became tight and grim. "My husband died suddenly several months ago. I'm sorry, but I'm not in a position to offer hospitality."

Yoko gasped softly. "I'm sorry we hadn't heard of your husband's passing. Please accept our deepest sympathy."

Iruka was still feeling strangely incoherent, but he'd lived with Kakashi and taught children long enough to know when someone was lying. He shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at the two women. Why on earth would Yoko lie about that?

Three small children pushed forward and clung to the woman's knees. They were clean and well fed but their clothes were patched and a little too small.

Yoko smiled. "Of course you must let us pay you for the expense and inconvenience, after all we would only have to pay for an inn otherwise."

Iruka felt tension leave his shoulders. Maybe Yoko just wanted to help out an old family friend's widow without offering charity. That must be it, hadn't he already decided that she was a very sweet young woman?

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi left Elli's little house as soon as the sun had set. He was well fed, well rested, and could actually see more than shape and movement, thank God. With a surge of chakra to his feet he hopped onto the roof and looked around, feeling as if he had never been able to see so far or so well before. It was amazing how a little deprivation could make you appreciate things you rarely thought about. The pirate city rose around him, hard jagged lines against the sky, studded with the first lights of evening.

So now that he could see, what was he looking for? The crew of the Mermaid? Better start at the dock.

He saw the men before they saw him. The older one was lean and sinuous, head bandaged, one arm in a sling, a tattoo of a mermaid just visible on the other. He had an ugly skin condition that made his neck look as if it was covered in grey scales. The other was dark and scrawny with the rounded shoulders of a young man who had grown too tall too fast. He had big round eyes, a long pointed nose and loose shaggy hair that hung almost to his shoulders. The overall effect, which could so easily have been grotesque, gave him a gaunt exotic beauty. They looked hazily familiar.

When they saw _him_, they recognised him instantly, even as he was preparing to slide into stealth. Too late, the only words he'd been able to catch from the muttered conversation were ninja-boy and big tomo. It sounded like a name

The older of the men put down his can of cheap beer and approached. He tapped his own forehead with a nicotine-stained finger. "Say, you one of them ninja types."

"Yes." Kakashi tapped his headband by way of reply.

"So you here on business… or pleasure?"

"Do I have to choose?"

A smirk crept over the man's dry flaky lips. "Not on our account you don't. Hey Gep!"

The youth joined them, strutting with long awkward strides.

"Let's show our stranger buddy here the big city. So which country are you from? Rain, Wind, Sun?"

"Fire."

"Sounds hot."

"Can be in the summer."

The man lit up a cigarette and let it dangle from the corner of his mouth while he spoke, releasing wisps of grey smoke. "Name's Kamo. This here kid's called Gep."

Kakashi paused while he checked out the man's bandages, he could smell blood, and the dazed look in his eyes suggested a recent concussion. "You look pretty beaten up Kamo. Get into a fight?"

"Yeah, nothing much. Just puts me in the mood for some action, so what do you like, girls? Boys?"

Kakashi's blue eye twinkled. "Sure, as long as they're pretty."

Kamo closed his eyes and nodded with a satisfied grin. "Oh ho, an all rounder, well I know just the place for you."

Kakashi allowed them to lead him on, one walking on either side. There was nothing about the two pirates (or would they prefer freelance sailors?) to set off any immediate alarms, but every cell in his body was tense, as if it knew something that his brain didn't. His missing night hung over him, an unlimited source of possibilities. None of them good.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke up while it was still dark. He was in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. Yoko was in bed with him and, oh God, she was naked. Again. Even worse, so was he. He dressed hurriedly and climbed out onto the roof, his mind reeling with ever more horrifying explanations. But he couldn't have had sex with her. For one thing he was frustrated like never before.

Helooked around as if the village might offer him an answer. The flat clay tiles under him were quite different in style and colour to the ones that roofed most of the buildings in Konoha, the streetlights were taller and a more brilliant white. The outlines of the houses they revealed were small and laid out in neat rows. Everything was just wrong.

The last thing he remembered was saying goodbye to Yoko next to the falls. Then what had happened? She had asked him to stay until he could escort her home. That meant… He couldn't be! If it was true, sleeping with a female clientwas the least of his problems. He was in Hidden Waterfall. A foreign village, a ninja village, uninvited, out of uniform and undeclared. He might as well be a spy.

He sat down and put his head in his hands. Had he been drinking? He wasn't hung over so it didn't seem likely. In fact his head seemed clearer than it had in days. Was it a genjutsu? He fashioned the seals to dispel it. Not even a ripple. No, it was real, horribly horribly real. Maybe he was going insane. Part of him fervently hoped so. The smart thing to do would be to leave right now, before he was seen. But how? He had no idea how to get back through the waterfall, and if he was caught trying...

As silently as a shadow he climbed back into the room and rummaged through his pack for his headband. As he tied it on the worst of his anxiety drained away. Not a spy anymore. Just a poor crazed shinobi who had woken up in the wrong village. It could be worse, at least they were allies. If he gave himself up they would probably be merciful. They might kill him but at least they wouldn't torture him first.

He wrote a letter of apology for Yoko, hopped down to the street and set out to find someone to surrender to.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi's companions led him past three 'houses' without even slowing their pace, much to the disappointment of the prancing barkers energetically trying to entice them in. One went so far as to grab Gep's arm, making the youth cry out as if he'd been stung. Kamo gave him a scathing look and they moved on around another corner, to a quiet dark building, set back a small distance from the road.

"This is the only place to go for something sweet and tight. Kochou-san's. Any other whore in this town could take on a whole ship's crew and not even feel it. But it will cost you."

"That's not a problem." Kakashi grinned under the thin fabric of his mask, imagining Iruka's face as he read _this_ part of the expenses on his mission report. It might just be worth the effort of handing the tedious thing in on time for once.

Kamo was grinning just as wide. "Right, so you stake us our drinks and we'll get you into the back room where they keep the tastiest morsels."

"Sounds like a deal." He raised two fingers in a lazy gesture of acknowledgement. Gep stiffened and let out a stifled squawk, the kid was annoyingly twitchy.

Obviously the two men were known here. A young girl in very short dress, but with traditional geisha makeup, bowed low to welcome them. Sweet music and the smell of tobacco, flowery perfume, and alcohol poured past them onto the street. It was darker inside than out in the night as they made their way over to a small bar in the corner, where a heavily shaded lamp cast the only light in the room. Three filled glasses were already waiting, the two men must be _very_ well known here.

Kakashi paid. They were right, it was going to cost him. Well at least it would buy some time too. They wouldn't try anything while he was supplying them with free booze.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka ran into a patrol returning from guard duty at the tree in less than a mile. And they had him on the ground, on his face, in moments. Of course he hadn't resisted, but they hadn't given him time to explain either. Maybe it was just as well, he had no idea what he could say.

The Hero of Hidden Falls was not happy to be woken at three in the morning and told that a spy from Hidden Leaf had been captured near the Hero Tree. He pulled his official robe down to cover his fleecy pajamas, autumn was cold up here in the mountains, and took his seat at his desk. A uniformed aid stretched over and placed a piece of paper in his hand.

"So," he squinted at the paper, "Umino Iruka. Why were you trying to steal the Hero Water?"

Iruka was kneeling in the middle of the room chained _and_ bound, they had some experience with Konoha ninjas and weren't taking any chances. He raised his head.

"Steal? No, I… I'm sorry I don't really know how I got here. I was on a mission, escorting a noblewoman…"

"Dressed like that? Does Konoha often send her shinobi on missions disguised as salesmen?"

Iruka look at his clothes, what he could see of them past the ropes. "But I'm dressed as a teacher, well I am a teacher. In Konoha that is. The Princess's father didn't want her escort in uniform, he thought it might attract attention from bandits and kidnappers."

The Hero snorted. "Humph, so you expect me to believe that a teacher's more likely to scare them off." He waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. "Lock him up for now, I'll send a message to his Kage in the morning."

Iruka looked up again sharply. "Please! Please Sir, if you're sending a message to Konoha could I send a letter too. You're welcome to read it, just a note to a friend to explain what's happened."

"A friend? Who, your spymaster?"

"No, really just a friend, I promise. Hatake Kakashi, he's a very… er, close friend. He'll be worried and I don't want him to hear second hand from gossip."

The Waterfall leader snapped to attention. He snatched the paper off his desk and looked at it carefully. "Umino Iruka. Not Naruto's Iruka-sensei?"

"Well yes, that is I was his sensei, as I said I teach at the…"

The Hero bounded around his desk and pulled Iruka to his feet. "Well why didn't you say so? Naruto didn't stop taking about you when he was here. That boy, well… And a friend of Hatake Kakashi. Any friend of _his_ is always welcome in Hidden Waterfall."

He slapped him on the back. Iruka instinctively leaned back to adjust his balance, failed to compensate fully for the weight of the chains, overcompensated for his failure and crashed to his knees. How humiliating.

"Get these off him you idiots." He was manhandled back to his feet as an aid scurried to find the keys. "You must spend the rest of the night at my home, I insist."

The Hero grabbed his arm, or at least the part of the chain wound around his arm. "Well well, a _close_ friend of Hatake Kakashi. I've got two unmarried sisters you know, rare beauties, one for each of you."

Iruka found that he was more disappointed than relieved. He really would have liked to send a letter to Kakashi.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After several hours of steady drinking Kamo was irritated and impatient. He was angry too, but not yet drunk enough to let it show. Fate had thrown the damned white haired ninja into his hands a second time, but for some reason it wasn't letting him close the trap. He'd been slipping bromide into the guy's drinks for an hour now, apparently without any effect at all. Sure it was less potent than poppy, but much less dangerous too, and he seriously _did not_ want the freak to go crazy and blow them all up again.

Kakashi was still biding his time. Deciding which of the men to ditch and which to pry open for information. The older one, Kamo, clearly had something to prove. Maybe his fight had been with a ninja, it would explain why he'd lost. Whatever. It made him vulnerable, quick to boast, lie and exaggerate. The information Kakashi was seeking might well lie just beneath the lies. The younger one on the other hand was tense and twitchy. Would probably just drink until he passed out. But there was something about him, some softness that made him seem out of place in their threesome. Somehow this kid just didn't belong in a seat between two killers. Kakashi rolled the options over in his mind. Perhaps this was the weakness he should exploit.

Naturally the copy nin hadn't missed the drops of brown liquid Kamo-san had been spiking his drinks with. Didn't matter, he hadn't been drinking them anyway after the first two. He'd probably already poisoned the potted plant behind him past redemption, but with the prices he was being charged he refused to feel guilty. Kamo was ripe for picking, he'd just crossed the boundary of drunkenness where his judgement was flawed enough to underestimate how drunk he was. Kakashi watched him slide a refilled glass towards him, noting the surface swallow the drips falling from the dropper bottle expertly palmed in his good hand.

Ten drops, must be getting desperate, there'd only been three in each drink until now. He reached for the glass, his languid movement just fractionally different to his normal relaxed laziness. Just enough difference to be picked up on by someone who knew what to look for. Just enough to make the pirate believe what he wanted to believe, that he was within reach of success. A substitution jutsu traded the two glasses seamlessly and Kamo downed the tainted liquor in a single gulp.

One… two… three… four… Kakashi leaned back and watched him slide off his stool and onto the floor, then turned to the other man gawking beside him.

"So kid, he's _your_ buddy. Do we leave him or take him with us."

The young man's eyes widened to bright orbs, flickering back and forth as if the answer was written somewhere on the walls.

"Take him, we've gotta take him. If the boss finds I went somewhere without him, with another guy…"

It was the first time the younger man had spoken all evening. For some reason Kakashi had been expecting the slight lisp. Well no matter. He picked up the snoring pirate as if he weighed no more than a doll and thrust him into Gep's arms. The youth squawked as he staggered back under the weight.

"Hey, you want him. You can carry him. So where to now?"


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. Regarding names, some I make up some I find elsewhere. Kamo was originally Drake (maybe from Draco – Dragon?) Anyway I looked for a Japanese word for male duck, couldn't find one. But I did find kamo: a wild duck, or slang for: a sucker, an easy mark. Worked for me.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Chapter 8 starts here.

Yoko flew across the rooftops in great arching leaps, a blur of white against the bright morning sky. She landed in the courtyard of a grand manor close to the edge of the village, one that had a particularly fine view of the lake and its waterfalls. Red mist seeped under the door into the kitchen, where a young woman was preparing vegetables. The mist dissipated as Yoko stepped out of it.

"Hello sister."

The young woman spun around making her long white braid whip around her shoulders and presenting Yoko with a face that was a mirror of her own.

"So you're still alive."

"Of course, I'm touched by your concern. And stronger than ever."

The woman stroked a finger along the flat edge of the knife she had been using, then set it down on the cutting board. "I bet you are, how many have you fucked to death now?"

Yoko's lovely face remained expressionless. "It's our destiny sister and it was a good death. I promise they all died happy."

"It's a curse. The Mizukage had the right idea when he tried to destroy us."

In response Yoko patted the slight curve of her sister's belly. "And yet you're the one continuing the succubus line? What did this little one's father know that was worth taking?"

The woman's eyes shone bright with anger. "He's my husband Yoko, I love him. Grandmother was right, if you're willing to love a man, to give yourself the way a lover should, this evil blood limit of ours won't harm him. You still have a choice. Find someone to love and you can live like a normal woman, like me."

Her sister reached for a slice of daikon radish. She popped it into her mouth then closed her teeth over it with an audible click before chewing slowly. "I have a better choice. Keep your husband if you want him, but take Taki as well."

"Take Taki? What the hell do you mean? Can't you see, I'm just a servant here."

Yoko's hand lashed towards her and connected hard, leaving a bright handprint on her left cheek. "God you were always weak but I didn't think even you would get this pathetic. You know damn well how. You can have Taki and I'll take Konoha. We can re-establish our clan and be the force that we were born to be. I have supporters, powerful supporters. The other villages will all fall to us eventually."

The woman sank to her knees, pressing a hand against her swollen cheek, laughing, eyes streaming. She sniffed loudly to stop her nose from running. "Take Konoha! Are you mad? Just how do you plan to do that, by using that little Leaf chuunin you brought with you? What is he, some kind of secret heir?"

Yoko's embarrassment at her outburst almost matched her anger. No one had ever been able to infuriate her like her twin. She smiled in a thin attempt to cover both. "That's the beauty of this plan, he's no one. Just a teacher. No one will miss him or be surprised when he fails an A class mission, but he knows all the secrets I'll need." As she was speaking she felt a third emotion flare through her, a much less familiar one, jealousy. Iruka had left a note but she hadn't bothered to read it, and he'd said she reminded him of someone. "Wait… when… how do _you _know him?"

"I don't." The woman pulled herself up using the edge of the counter. "It was careless of you to let him get away. A Leaf chuunin was arrested during the night. It's big news. We don't get a lot of spies here in Waterfall. Looks like you were too slow this time, might have lost your cute little bag of goodies." She smiled back, but her eyes were as hard as diamond. "Or maybe he didn't want you."

Yoko's were eyes just as hard and her voice as brittle as cut glass. "You know how it works dear sister, they all want us eventually, I just have to be patient. And I'll get him back easily enough when I'm ready to leave."

She rubbed her sister's belly again. "This will be _our_ secret heir."

In a single move the other woman grabbed her kitchen knife and pressed the point against her stomach. Her eyes glittering with cold determination.

"Back off Yoko, I'll kill my baby and myself before I let you use us. If that's what you came here for you wasted your time. I'm happy, can your insane mind understand that? Happy! I have a loving husband, a comfortable life, and a safe future for my baby. You can't offer me a damn thing."

Yoko took a step back. "Very well. I'll come back _after_ I have Konoha. You'll find I can be more persuasive than you expect." She stroked a slender white hand over the teakwood counters on the kitchen cabinets, as if admiring the workmanship "Don't worry I can find my own way out."

Her twin sucked in a gasp then choked the air back out, spluttering in her fury. "Mokkou-san! So that's how you found me. He met you somewhere and mentioned he'd been working on a house with a cook that looked just like you. You killed that sweet man just to get a roadmap of the village and a plan of this house!"

The cloud of red mist had already vanished.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

The Mermaid was not _exactly _what Kakashi had been expecting. Obviously he knew that a modern pirate ship would _not_ be a full-rigged schooner flying a Jolly Roger at its mast. But how on earth had they got their hands on this? It was a modern gun-ship, fully armed, fully loaded, that wouldn't have been out of place in the world's most sophisticated coastguard or navy.

He dumped the unconscious Kamo unceremoniously on the dock. The kid was just too wasted. He'd collapsed under the weight of his companion and the influence of the drink several hours ago. Even after letting him sleep it off until almost dawn Kakashi had ended up carrying the other pirate most of the way himself. Should have just ditched him in the ocean a quarter of a mile back, but that wouldn't have made him seem too trustworthy. The man's weight wasn't the problem, it was the stink of cigarettes and booze.

"Nice boat, doesn't look as if it holds a lot of goods though."

Geb was still drunk enough to slur his words. Combined with the lisp Kakashi found it quite amusing. "Oh we can get quite a few down there. They'll lie pretty quiet when we have the seals on them." His eyes rolled towards the copy nin, then glazed over with fear. "You don't remember the seal do you?"

Remember? Kakshi scratched the bridge of his nose casually, lifting his headband just enough to peer underneath. The sharingan stung with even this slight stimulation, but found no match for Gep's face in his memory. "Hmm, seal? What seal is that?"

Geb's eyes flicked from the man passed out at his feet to the gun-ship anchored off the quay and back again. It looked as if he was making a painfully hard decision.

"If I tell you, you know help you… will you help me?" He lowered his voice to the barest whisper, "…help me to get away?"

Kakashi felt a triumphant shout echo through his brain. Yes! He knew this kid was no ruthless killer. He allowed his body no reaction at all. "Sooo… you're not happy living the life of a pirate?"

Gep scraped a circle on the dirty wooden boards with his foot. "I… I didn't join them willingly. Not really. Look… I was just a kid, he got me drunk. Maybe a bit more than drunk, and the sex was good. But I never wanted to go with him, I just woke up on his ship. Not this one, it was a beat-up smelly old thing. That was before…. Look you can help me get home, I know you can. Will you?"

He met the copy nin's exposed eye with an unwavering gaze, eyes moist, chin trembling.

Kakashi's eye curved into a happy arc. "Sure kid. Just tell me what you know."

Gep sank to his knees as if they had given out under him, then sat back on his haunches. Kakashi crouched facing him without breaking eye contact for a second.

"Well the boss has always done a trade in men… and women, to work, to fight," Geb's face flushed red, "a-and you know, other stuff. Sex. Runaway kids mostly. But I guess he steals some from their villages like he did me." He took a deep breath and bowed his head, scratching at a stain on his pants.

"But then this guy came, said he wanted top class fighters, ninjas, and he'd pay whatever it took. Gave the boss that new ship over there."

Kakashi scratched at his untidy hair, careful not to betray his mounting excitement. "Was that the sennin?"

"Er no, I don't think…" Gep stopped suddenly, back straightening. "Hell no, I can see what you're doing. Get me home then I'll tell you."

Shit, and he'd been so close. Kakashi's smile beamed with good-natured honesty. "Of course, a promise is a promise. So where do you live?"

Gep wilted as if the air had been let out of him. "That's just it, I don't know." He looked up, eyes hot and bright. "Like I said I was just a kid. We called it Stonebridge Village, but no one seems to have heard of it. I've tried to get some of the other guys to tell me where I came from but…" his voice coarsened, developing a harsh croak, "I think they were all too drunk at the time."

Kakashi stood up, casually leaning over the slumped youth. His hot lead had suddenly gone very very cold. He'd give it two days. If he hadn't made any real progress by then he'd ditch the kid somewhere safe and start at the beginning again.

"Ok, Stonebridge Village. That shouldn't be too hard to track down." Who was he kidding, there had to be thousands of villages with stone bridges.

Geb brightened. "You were there once, I remember you. It was that thing you did with your hand that did it." He lifted two fingers in a lazy gesture.

"You and… and a tall man with yellow hair, a think there were some others too. I'm not sure… it's all kind of jumbled. I was really small, maybe four or five. But this guy, biggest man I ever saw, he came into the village and said he'd kill us all if we didn't hide him. He did kill several people, there was a big memorial service afterwards."

If Geb had been four or five that would have been about fifteen years ago. But was it before or after? If he'd had the sharingan already then he'd still have the memory intact. Kakashi's skin prickled. He hesitated. These were places in his memory where he seriously did not want to go. It was the time that included his last few months with Obito, and the raw angry rivalry between them that was resolved much too late. His last precious year with Sensei, when he could and should have said so much, but had done little more than sulk and feel sorry for himself. And then of course, there was Rin.

Without Iruka to pull him back from the precipice, and the abyss of despair that lay beyond, they were memories he was afraid to remember. Cold sweat gathered on his spine and formed a little trickle that sent an icy chill through his body… and soul.

His eye curved upwards again. "What else do you remember? Was there another boy, the same age as me? A boy with black hair and dark eyes?"

The smile was rewarded with a faint flicker of familiarity, as Geb sucked on his lower lip and shook his head slowly. "Dunno. Lots of people have black hair and dark eyes. I just remember you."

He looked at the copy nin with an expression close to awe.

"You faced off with that big guy on your own. I thought he was going to squash you like a bug but you did something with your hands. And then he was on fire and screaming, and I was screaming, and my mom was screaming because I'd sneaked out and she thought I was in the house. And you looked right at me and raised your two fingers and I thought you were gonna set me on fire too, and I screamed and screamed…"

His eyes had become vacant and haunted. "But you didn't. I remember thinking you might even be smiling, I couldn't really tell because of that mask thing you're wearing. And I… I kinda hoped you were smiling at me."

He closed his eyes tight. "And that's all I can remember."

Kakashi spared a glance for the man still lying unconscious beside them. He wasn't going to wake up any time soon. "Ok. So tell me where we can get some decent coffee in this town and we'll start making some plans."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke much later than usual. The sun was already fully risen, promising a clear bright day. He reached for Kakashi beside him and touched smooth sheets. That's right he was away. He opened his eyes and took in the unfamiliar room for a few moments before he remembered that _he_ was the one on the mission. Kakashi was probably back by now and waiting for him. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it, feeling the familiar dull ache of loneliness. But something was different. As much as he wanted his lover, it felt… normal. His need didn't have the edge of desperation that he'd been feeling for the past few days. Maybe he was finally getting this thing under control.

When he was ready he made his way through the rambling old house towards the sound of happy voices. He found the Hero eating breakfast at a large low table with two girls and a boy. They looked about twelve years old.

The Waterfall leader rose to greet him. "Umino-san, or can I call you Iruka-sensei? Did you sleep well? I was just about to send one of my genins to wake you."

So that explained the three preteens trying not to stare at him. "Oh, er I'd be honoured to have you call me Iruka-sensei and I slept very well thank you. But I'm surprised to see that you have a genin team."

"Well being Hero isn't normally so demanding, not often I get dragged out of bed to deal with spies." He winked. "I need a day job too."

He sat back down and Iruka sat next to him. Breakfast looked good and he was hungry, he'd barely eaten the day before.

The Hero passed him a plate of fried cakes. "Try these, they're a local specialty."

"Thank you, but I need to find the Princess. I abandoned her in the night."

"Hardly. Your mission was to bring her here safely then take her back, right? Not to tag along with her the whole time. Hidden Waterfall's the safest place on the whole continent. She'll find you when she wants you. I can guarantee that everyone in the village knows you're here by now. So… as soon as you're ready I'll show you around a bit. The kids can train by themselves for the day. And I'd like to introduce you to my sisters."

Iruka took a cake and bit into it. It was sticky and oily. "So I er, assume you won't be sending a message to Konoha now."

"Well no. I can spare a runner if you want, I mean if you still need to send a letter to Hatake-san." He sounded almost hopeful. Iruka wondered idly which one of his sisters would be the runner.

"No really, there's no need on my account. I just thought if someone was already going…"

Iruka rubbed his sugary fingers together, their stickiness added to his discomfort. He was being foolish. He'd only been gone three days. He didn't need to check in with Kakashi just because he'd be a few days late. It was hardly as if Kakashi had never been late on a mission after all.

"Now about my sisters, they're strong willed but don't be put off. Picky too, they've already turned down just about every eligible man in the village… Oh, and they'll probable want to spar with you, they'll not interested in weaklings. But I'll share a few secrets that will help you to bring them down."

The Hero was willing to help a stranger beat his own sisters? He must be desperate. They must be awful.

They were interrupted by the arrival of two women who materialised out of a shimmer of rain-like water droplets. And they were gorgeous. Twins obviously, red curls, violet eyes and at least six feet tall. One of Jiraiya's wildest fantasies brought to life.

"Oh, Mimi, Fifi, we were just talking about you. This is Umino Iruka from Konoha, he's been anxious to meet you."

Iruka scrambled to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster and bowed politely.

"Sit down. Sit down everyone. Girls, have some tea, and breakfast, get to know each other while I deal with the kids."

The Hero ushered his gennins out of the room leaving Iruka with the two Amazons and a heavy dose of awkward silence.

They sat, one on either side. Iruka tried hard not to sweat. Or at least not to sweat too noticeably. The woman looking down on him from his right spoke first.

"So I assume our dear brother summoned us here so that you could fall in love with one of us at first sight."

Iruka didn't know whether to repress a cringe or a smile. "Well, er, he did mention in passing that you're both unmarried but…"

"Good. So now we've got that out of the way let's talk about something more interesting." She slammed a kunai on the table. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Iruka let out a long breath, more grateful than the two women would ever know for the change in subject. He picked up the kunai and turned it over in his hand. It was longer and more tapered than the weapons he was familiar with.

"No, not exactly."

"Didn't think so. It's designed for accuracy over long distances. Better suited for the open spaces we have in Waterfall than more standard types." She winked playfully. "I've shown you mine, now you show me yours."

Iruka blushed but took a kunai from an inner pocket and put it next to the other. The girl pushed it over to her sister."

"See Mimi, I told you. Shorter and heavier. In a forest distance isn't much of a consideration, the tree cover lets you move in much closer for an attack. It's power and speed that counts, right Umino-san."

"So you two are weapon specialists?"

"The best in Taki." The Waterfall leader said, as he returned to find the table littered with weapons. "Well I see they've started right in with the knives. Just don't suggest to either of them that they throw like a girl."

Mimi flashed him a look that was sharper than the daggers spread out before them. "Jealousy jealousy, you just wish you _could_ throw like a girl."

The Hero grinned wide and threw up his hands. "I'm about to give up on you two. I introduce you to the best looking guy to come to the village in months and all you want to do is talk about killing people."

Suddenly the door opened and Yoko walked in. The temperature in the room seemed to increase twenty degrees.

The two sisters looked at each other suspiciously and shuffled a little closer to the man between them. Iruka, however, was less aware of them than of their brother, who really was a very handsome man. For the first time he noticed his beautiful eyes, and the way his hair fell into little waves behind his ears. It made him think of Kakashi's mismatched eyes and his impossible hair. He looked away as his stomach tightened and a hard knot started to form in the centre of his chest. Kakashi. Suddenly he wanted him so much it hurt.

He looked back at the Hero, who was staring at Yoko in a way that could only be described as predatory.

Iruka sprang to his feet. "Princess! Oh, er I'm sorry. Let me introduce Ookami-sama, from Wolf Island."

The Hero bowed low then clasped her hand in both of his. "We are honoured by your visit. Please, Princess if there is anything, and I do mean _anything,_ I can do to make your stay here in Waterfall more pleasant just let me know."

The truth dawned on Iruka with the speed and brilliance of a tropical sunrise. Yoko had been the source of the sexual tension between them all along. Her undeniable sex appeal was like a blood limit skill, influencing everyone around her. Why shouldn't non-nin families have such abilities? They just wouldn't have any reason to train them, so they usually stayed more or less dormant. Yoko probably didn't even know herself. After all she _had_ lived on a small Island all her life.

He pushed his way, almost rudely, between his client and his host. "I assume you came here looking for me Princess?"

"Yes. I want to go back to Wave Country. How soon can we leave?"

Thank God. Iruka bowed to the Waterfall leader and his sisters. "Thank you again for your hospitality, it's been delightful meeting you all but as you see I have to go."

Pulling Yoko behind him, he walked out into the sunlight. Protecting this woman was getting more and more complicated all the time.


	9. Chapter 9

They were staring at each other, matching icy glare for icy glare, clenched determined jaw for clenched determined jaw, snarl for snarl.

"You really expect me to just go running out there without any cover at all?"

"You're twelve inches tall, how much cover do you need?"

"All I can get, they eat dogs in this town, I can smell them roasting."

Kakashi sighed. He couldn't believe that he was arguing with his own damn dog. Half an hour's conversation with Gep had allowed him to pick out enough dialect words to determine that the kid must have been born in Cloud country. He didn't remember any large towns nearby, and it had to be near the coast. So Kakashi was fairly confident that he'd narrowed his search for Gep's home village to a sparsely populated area along the northern tip of Cloud. That explained why he was trying to stealth the unstealthiest human being he'd ever met aboard a small freighter.

"Look Pakkun. Just let me know when it's all clear. No one would want to eat you, you're far too tough and much too sour."

"Yeah well, if I end up in a cooking pot because of this you can add bitter to that list."

The little dog trotted around the corner and out of sight, neck stiff and head held high, while the two men waited behind a heap of rotting discarded crates and cargo nets. A shadow crossed them as a sailor walked towards the ship, his footsteps retreating across the wooden boards until they had been swallowed by the steady sloshing of the ocean. The freighter continued to creak eerily at its mooring at the other end of the quay. Shouts were exchanged from ship to shore. A cluster of gulls arrived, wheeling and swooping overhead and filling the air with theirshrieking yulks.

Two urgent barks punctuated the waterfront sounds.

"Now!"

Kakashi grabbed the younger man's hand and raced across the dock and onto the ship. He pulled him into a doorway and clamped a hand over his mouth to deaden his noisy breathing as two sailors approached from opposite directions. Words were mumbled as they passed and continued on their way. Kakashi waited for a long minute before peering back the way they'd come. One of the sailors from the ship was now headed towards the port along the sun-bleached boards of the quay. Others staggered aboard under heavy loads of supplies or hurried on last minute errands. He relaxed.

"So do we, er, hide in a lifeboat?" Gep whispered in his ear.

"You can if you like. I'm going to find an empty cabin."

The copy nin thrust his hands deep into his pockets and made his way towards a steep metal stairway. A ship this age would have accommodation for double the men needed to run it these days. Mechanisation had taken a lot of the grunt work out of being a common seaman. And the least attractive cabins this late in the year would be the ones furthest from the heat of the engines.

Two hours later a jolt marked the release of the towline and the old steamer thrummed into action as it headed towards Cloud Country under its own power. Gep sat hunched on a bed in the unused dusty cabin, looking pale and drawn. Kakashi reached into his pack and tossed him a handful of Konoha's very best ration bars. Which also happened to be it's very worst.

"Relax Kid. We've got a good two days before we make landfall on Cloud."

The youth picked up a bar and looked at it uneasily before putting it back with the others and pushing them aside. "It's not that. It's just… well I don't feel so good. This ship rolls around a lot more than The Mermaid, and I never was too good at sea."

Kakashi stretched out on the other stained sheetless bed. He took an orange book out of his pack and opened it, focussing the light from the dirty porthole onto the page. A seasick pirate. Now he had officially heard everything.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Iruka was not looking forward to another four days in Yoko's company. It was true that he was relieved to some extent, to have found out that she and not he, was the source of the tension between them. But it didn't make any real difference. The tension was still there and he still had to deal with it. He thought back wistfully to the way their journey had started. The easy chatter between them and their pleasure in each other's company. Just when had that all changed? The night at the Shinto shrine seemed to be the obvious choice. Could the spirit of the she-wolf still linger there, and had something in the place's atmosphere triggered instincts that she'd inherited from her wolf ancestor?

If so there was no way he could take her back through those mountains and past the shrine again, he'd be a total wreck by the time he got home as it was. There had to be another way.

There was. Waterfall Country had a small coastline at its northern edge. So as Kakashi was settling in for his trip around the Cloud Country coast from the south, Iruka and Yoko were negotiating to charter a fishing boat to take them around the same coast from the north.

Iruka followed Yoko onto the boat she'd hired, the Flying Fish. An overoptimistic name for such an old tub, in his opinion. But it seemed sound and sturdy, and it had recently been brightened up with a fresh coat of blue paint. It had a crew of four. Strong silent men, quite different to the other fishermen and women who were greeting each other, chatting around the boats, and haggling in the fish market. They almost seemed more like shinobi than fishermen, and he found their presence reassuring. The most he'd ever been at sea was the short trip to Wolf Island, now he'd be surrounded by water for at least three straight days.

Yoko, however, was in her element. By the time they cast off there'd been a complete role reversal between them. They stood together on the deck as she explained the different colours of the water, various kinds of waves, how to recognise the currents and the winds. She was the sensei and he was the student. As Iruka watched her enthusiastically pointing out a particular riffling of the surface, flushed from the cool wind and dampened with sea spray, some of the tension diffused. Slowly, very slowly, some of pleasure he'd enjoyed during their first day together started to return. By the time the time they said goodnight and settled into the two best cabins aboard, he felt he might just make it through the next few days after all.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi held Gep by the shoulders as he leaned into the wind over the rail. When the quiet moans from the other side of the room had taken on the same resigned hopeless tone as Asuma with a hangover, he'd decided to act. He hadn't spent much time at sea himself, other than some island hopping here and there. Fire country had no coast and the ocean had no particular appeal to him. It was just one more treeless desert, but wet instead of dry. So he really had no experience with seasickness. But in the back of his brain he remembered hearing that fresh air was supposed to help.

It was getting dark and the wind was picking up, which of course was why the damn boat was rolling around so much. Maybe he could just lash the kid to the rail and go back inside where it was relatively warm.

"I think I'm ok now. Let's go back, I'm freezing."

Well that was something he could agree with. "You sure?"

Kakashi cracked open the door and peered into the interior, lit by naked bulbs strung at intervals across the ceiling. His hair caught the light as he leaned forward, like white flames. Gep's eyes shone in the darkness. Kakshi just caught the breathy words.

"You're my hero."

"No kid. You have something I want, I'm just paying your price."

"Every hero I ever dreamt up looked like you."

"Kakashi sighed. "Yeah well, a lot of people go for the hair and light skin. It's nothing special, just different, gets their attention."

'The Boss has white hair."

Suddenly Kakashi realised the implications in what the kid was saying. He'd just been doing his job, completing a mission with his team all those years ago. Didn't he have enough guilt to wallow in already without being responsible for an innocent kid getting caught up with cutthroat pirates?

"You can't judge a person by the colour of his hair. It's what's in someone's heart that counts, and you know that from the things he does, not how he looks."

Gep realised that Kakashi had vanished through the door without him noticing. He hurried to follow and found the copy-nin back in their cabin lounging on a bed.

He closed the door behind him but didn't make a move away from it. "You're right. The Boss is just a brute, a killer."

"I'm a killer too."

The young man shook his head making his loose hair swing around his face. "You aren't like him, I can tell. You took me outside to make me feel better. He never did anything like that." Pink blush darkened his narrow cheekbones. "If you want to… you know…do it. I… I'd like it. I like _you_…" he looked up, biting his lip, "a lot."

Gep's didn't see the ninja move, but he could feel him pulling his hair to the top of his head with both hands from behind, forming a loose bushy ponytail. He held his breath while Kakashi turned him around and looked into his brown eyes, expression unreadable. And he waited, for what seemed an eternity, for Kakashi to kiss him. But when he did it was in the centre of his forehead, through the mask.

They stood in silence as Gep closed his eyes tight and pressed his lips together. A shudder passed through his body. Immediately Kakashi removed his hands letting the hair fall back into a shaggy mane.

"Sorry kid, it's a sweet offer but you're just not my type."

Gep turned away, covering his face with one hand. "Right, I forgot. You like them pretty."

Kakashi wanted to tell him that he was pretty, in his own way, just not the right way. The words stuck in his throat.

"Go to bed, let's get some sleep."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka woke up suddenly, it was dark, very dark. The only light was a diffuse reflection from the lights on the ship's rail that turned the porthole of his cabin into a circle of grey against the black. The engines seemed much louder in the quiet of the night, throbbing in his ears almost painfully, like the start of a migraine.

He felt the presence in the room before he saw it. "Who's there?"

A lean white form approached from the corner of the room. It sat on the bed beside him.

"Kakashi? How? …What are you doing here?"

Iruka's scalp prickled, something about this situation was frighteningly familiar. In the back of his mind there was the threat of suffocation and words whispered by a demon. He reached out with chakra, searching for a threat, but found nothing but raw lust in the other's intent. Despite every instinct his pulse quickened in response.

"I thought you'd be more pleased to see me."

The familiar words brought a rush of emotion. "Oh God Kakashi I am. I am soo glad to see you. I've missed you so much, you have no idea."

He sat up and pulled his lover towards him, then closed his eyes and snaked trembling fingers through fluffy white hair. Right now it didn't matter how. Kakashi was there, that was what mattered, the only thing that mattered. He let his fingers slide over soft skin, softer even than in his memory. Then cupped a breast in each hand as he leaned in to…

BREASTS!

He teleported to the far side of the room, almost overshooting and ending up in the ocean. Thank god it was cold enough for him to be wearing sweats to sleep, instead of just boxers.

"Yoko! Wha… what are you doing in here?"

"You didn't seem to mind a moment ago."

"I thought you were someone else, I was still half asleep. I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Lucky someone."

He felt her close the distance between them and kept his eyes glued shut, inches from the wall. The skin prickled across his cheeks.

"Are you trying to seduce me?"

She took another step closer. He could feel her breath stirring the hair that hung down over the back of his neck and the heat of her body behind him. It was as if Kakshi standing there, about to nip his shoulder and run his tongue along the cut between the muscles of his back and his neck. He resisted the urge to lean back.

"Would that be so horrible?"

"I… I'd have thought it was obvious, I'm already attached."

Yoko reached for his upper arm, a surprisingly strong grip. He felt the press of her fingertips into his flesh. "But not married."

"No, that's not possible." His blush had spread and deepened to vibrant pink.

"So she's a married woman?"

"Oh no, neither of us are married, I would never… I really don't want to discuss it. Just please… please go."

Yoko released her grip. She might as well. It wouldn't work if he wasn't willing. "You know where to find me if you change your mind. Just the other side of this door."

Iruka waited until he heard the latch click shut before opening his eyes and slowly making his way back to the narrow bunk. Two more days. Whatever Tsunade was being paid for this it wasn't enough.

Yoko closed the door behind her and sank to the floor, whispering to the empty room.

"You saw? I just don't understand why I can't take him. This is the third time I've failed in three days, no one is that strong."

A voice answered in her head. "Bring him back here. In your own territory he'll be weaker and you'll be stronger. We'll worry about covering our tracks later… if we still need to."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Two nights and a day later the freighter put in to a modest harbour to offload some farming equipment. No one noticed the two men who slipped ashore and mingled with the crowd in the fish market. They arrived to an unexpected tension in the air, the kind Kakashi associated with political instability… and war. He fine-tuned his senses. Why should Cloud be so on edge, particularly this far from Kumo and the Capital?

Almost immediately he picked up a familiar presence, as a fine mist rolled in from the ocean, filling the market place with cool moisture. The fog seemed unusually red, must the reddish dust stirred up by the crowd. Kakashi stopped short. Iruka? It couldn't be. He pulled his mask down an inch and inhaled deeply, then pulled it up again as he almost gagged. Blood, earth and something else that made his heart quicken, yes… Iruka. There was a slight blurring of his senses into a feeling of not quite reality, the mix of danger and desire was familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint how. He stood still trying to track its source.

Then he saw what was making the crowd so anxious. Cloaked ninjas in painted masks. Hunters. Two that he could see, possibly more. He was too far from the ship to get back on board without being seen, even without taking Gep into account. And no doubt the hunters were here to _stop_ their targets from boarding ships.

One of the hunters turned towards him, not good. The copy nin stood frozen for a moment with indecision. Every part of him longed to track down that tantalising hint, even while the logical part of his brain explained the distorting effects of wishful thinking. Most likely he'd just picked up a scent from someone who used Iruka's shampoo.

He touched Gep's shoulder. "Stay here, act naturally." Then slipped out of sight underground.

Tracking the trackers from underneath, he waited until they had gone a safe distance. He hoped Konoha's hunters were better than these, they didn't pick up on his presence at all. But right now he wouldn't complain. He found Gep where he'd left him, ashen faced, trembling. The youth shoved a flier into his hand. It showed two Cloud ninjas, standard file photographs obviously, a man and a woman.

"They're looking for them."

"Know them kid?"

Gep seemed too stunned to register any emotion other than fear. "Not the guy, but the woman's Aya, my cousin Aya. She's like my big sister, we grew up together. She's the only one from my village to make it as a ninja, unless there's been someone since…" all the colour drained from his face. "They're here to kill her right? I've gotta get home and find out what's going on."

Kakashi only needed a single glimpse of the paper to recognise both faces. The last time he'd seen them they'd been white and bloodless. Floating in a lake, deep in a cavern, hundreds of miles away.

Suddenly Geb was gone, racing ahead. "Hey I know that guy, he came to my village a couple of times. Hey wait up, stop!"

He had no choice but to chase after the youth, who was bearing down on a tall man in a floppy leather hat and flapping leather cape. He cut off the man while Gep closed the distance from behind. The kid was fast and surprisingly graceful when running.

"Excuse me, are you familiar with Stonebridge Village, I understand it's not too far from here."

The man eyed Kakashi with open suspicion.

"Ninja right? Folks round here don't have much love for ninjas. Their 'so called' secret war and the taxes to pay for it left us all a lot worse off. Anyway I already told them I don't know nothing about that girl from Stonebridge what went missing."

"Really? Told who?"

"That weirdo in the mask. One of the other weirdos, in the white masks. Said she was supposed to go some place in Wind Country, with that ninja husband of hers. He wanted to know if anyone had heard them talking about Hidden Sound. Told him I'd never heard of Hidden Sound, whatever that may be."

Suddenly Kakashi was paying full attention. So the missing nins were suspected of defecting to Sound. Interesting.

"We just need directions to Stonebridge Village. I take it you know where it is."

"Yeah sure. Flyspeck of a place, easy to miss, but I've got a couple of customers there."

He pulled a large knife from under his cloak. "I sell farming tools. Just got a new delivery, got some of these too if you're interested. Chef's knives, imported from France."

The copy nin had the knife in _his_ hand before they saw him move. The steel was excellent quality and it had a decent edge, but the balance was wrong for a weapon.

He pointed it towards the stranger in an offhand but vaguely menacing way. "So, Stonebridge Village?"

The merchant bobbed his head in a clumsy bow. "Er yes, sure. I'll draw a map."

The copy nin's eye curved upwards, but it was still cold enough to freeze lava. "Thanks, appreciate it."

Kakashi tilted the knife against the light. "Try sharpening them at a flatter angle, say twenty degrees instead of thirty-five. You'll get a twenty percent better cut and they'll stay sharp longer."

He flipped the knife in the air so that it spun in half a dozen lazy circles, opened his hand to catch it, and handed it back by the blade. Leaving his hand outstretched for the map.

"Come on kid, you'll be home before you know it."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

The day passed very very slowly. Iruka stayed in his cabin, watching the sun creep higher at a pace to test even a ninja's patience. By the time it was too high for him to see from his little window, he had built up enough resolve to face Yoko again. He was still shaken and embarrassed from his 'encounter' with her the previous night, but he had a job to do and he was a Konoha shinobi, he would do it.

Yoko walked over to him, as he emerged from his self-imposed confinement blinking in the bright sunlight (had she been waiting?) and put her hand on his arm. The exact place on his upper arm that she'd grabbed during the night. It made his skin crawl.

"I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable Sensei." She let go and dipped her head stiffly. "I was wrong, please forgive me. I promise I won't do anything like it again." Her eyes flashed to meet his, "unless you make the first move, that is."

Iruka felt relief wash over him. The release of tension almost made him laugh out loud. "Thank you Princess. You didn't have to apologise, but I appreciate it more than you can imagine. You are very beautiful, and if things were different I'd be very flattered. But as I said, I'm already involved with someone, and I'm loyal."

Yoko patted his arm again, this time it felt friendly and normal.

"I can tell." She couldn't help feeling jealous of this woman he cared so much for, and that he was clearly anxious to rush home to. "I hope she deserves you."

Iruka felt blood rushing to his cheeks. It would be too embarrassing to both of them to try to explain his situation now. "I'm the weak one, the one who's unworthy."

So that was his problem. Relationships between jounin and chuunin were frowned on in most of the hidden villages, but not forbidden. The woman probably wanted to keep the affair quiet for her own political reasons, the selfish bitch.

Time still passed slowly with nothing to do but watch the water and the sky, but the boat seemed to be picking up the slack. Plowing through the water at an impressive clip. So Iruka was more than a little anxious when he felt its powerful motor drop to about half speed early the following morning. He left breakfast half eaten in his cabin and went to investigate.

Yoko turned from talking to two of the sailors. She had pretty much taken command as soon as she had come aboard. It seemed a little odd, but then she was the one paying. And she certainly seemed to know what she was doing.

"There must be seaweed caught around the propeller blades. We'll have to anchor up so that the men can free it. It shouldn't take very long. There's a little harbour in a few miles, we can go ashore for lunch while they're fixing it."

Well if she was going ashore he had no choice but to follow. He bowed and went back to load up on his weapons.

The 'little' harbour was not, in fact, so very little. There was a significant fishing fleet, dozens of pleasure boats and even a decent sized freighter offloading cargo. It was also very crowded, must be market day, or some local festival coming up. But it didn't seem very festive, the atmosphere felt tense and uncomfortable. He started to scan the crowd, looking for the source of the tension, and saw something completely unexpected, a tuft of silver hair. Hair belonging to someone taller than the others in the crowd, walking away. Lazy, lackadaisical, unmistakable. Just the hair by itself had more attitude than everyone else in the marketplace put together. Only one person in the world had hair like that.

Yoko had picked up on the mood of the crowd too, and she didn't like it. Then she saw what was causing it. Hunter nins, really bad news. She was with a foreign shinobi, and he was sure to be armed to the teeth, they all were. They'd be questioned for hours if he was picked up, she might even lose him completely if he wasn't willing to lie. After everything she'd been through that was unacceptable. She silently called two of the men from the boat.

Then she picked up a flare in Iruka's chakra. Shit! Hunters wouldn't miss that. She caught a single word whispered under his breath. "Kakashi."

So that was his problem, that bitch was here too, what foul luck. She couldn't let them meet. Two birds with one stone, she filled the area with blood mist. The reddish fog billowed for a moment then started to fade. So that was failing her too, she needed more blood. A quick gesture caused her men to move into position behind her.

Iruka sensed the movement, he turned and saw the fishermen from the boat. When had they come out here?

"Sensei we have to go."

"Of course, whenever you're ready."

As they turned back towards the fishing boat her smile was a little too intense. Two days, then he'd be hers. She knew that she was looking forward to it much more than she should.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

A.N. I know I'm wicked (guilty blush). So they're off on their separate ways again. I just liked the idea of them getting close enough in the crowd to smell each other, but not getting the chance to do anything about it.


	10. Chapter 10

Stonebridge Village was both closer and further away than Kakashi had thought. Closer in miles, but the area they had to cross was boggy moorland, filled with mires and treacherous quicksand. No wonder no one went there. Without the map from the merchant he might never have found it.

After a day and a half of heavy hiking they stood on the crest of a hill, looking down into the most perfect little picture postcard village he'd ever seen.

Gep seemed to have regressed to ten years old. "Oh my God. I don't believe it. Look there it is, everything's the same. There's my tree, and the old barn, and the big pond. Oh come on, come on."

He started to take off down the hill.

"Hey what…" After the first step he was stopped by a gentle but unbreakable grip.

"Not so fast kid. How long have you been away?"

"About four years I guess, but what has that…"

"Let's wait until after dark."

The copy nin sat down in a single fluid move, pulling the youth to the ground beside him.

Gep spluttered with rage. "What the fuck… you bring me all the way here and then want to hold me back at the last minute…"

Kakashi let him rant, fighting the urge to read his book until he was done. "Look. That woman, your cousin, she went missing right? I haven't picked up on anyone so far, but if this if her home village, the chances are it's being watched pretty closely. Go rushing in there after four years away they'll just haul you straight off for questioning. And when you consider your 'profession' for the past few years, your homecoming will be one of the shortest in history."

Gep turned almost as pale as the man beside him. "Oh God. You mean… you're right, I'm a criminal now. I hadn't thought of that. But I never really did anything, they just took me along with them."

"Listen kid, you don't have to persuade me. The truth is I don't care _what_ you've been doing these past four years. But I doubt that telling them that you were only the pirate boss's favourite fuck will cut you much of a break."

Gep raked his hands through his hair then rested them in his lap, knotting his fingers together. "This was a mistake. How can I just go back and live with everyone again? My folks, the kids I grew up with… I…I've got blood on my hands haven't I?"

Kakashi gave him a sweet candid smile, or at least as candid as was possible through a mask. "Tell me what you've been doing, what you know, and I'll give you an honest opinion."

"Yeah right. A promise is a promise. Well like I said before, there was this guy, he just showed up on The Mermaid one day."

"What did he look like?"

"I..I didn't get a really good look, but he had long black hair, and there was something about his eyes that was… spooky."

Well that suggested a couple of very interesting candidates. "Spooky eyes?"

"Yeah I just saw them for a moment, his hair pretty much covered them up but he scared the shit out of me. Hell he scared the shit out of all of us. You see we had a big haul of opium on board so we had a double guard, but he got right past everyone without them having a clue. The boss came out yelling and screaming, asking what the hell was going on. He pulled a gun on the guy but he just took it away from him like it was a joke."

Kakashi's face stayed as passive as stone. "This was the man who asked you to capture ninjas?"

Gep nodded. "But the boss just laughed in his face. Said he must be a damn fool. That he didn't care how much money he offered, ninjas were too dangerous. But the guy gave him these papers, all rolled up like little scrolls. Said if you put them on a ninja they'd seal up his charter…chaker…"

"Chakra."

"Yeah, something like that. He said it would seal up their powers, make them just like anyone else."

"And did they?"

"Boy did they ever? Just slip one of them in their shoes or under their bindings and the freaks… oh sorry!" He looked at the ninja beside him sheepishly.

"It's ok kid, go on, you've got a point and I've been called worse."

"Yeah well, you put them in their shoes and then they can't do any of that weird ninja stuff. Then all you've got to do is tie them down and dope them up and they're ready for delivery."

Kakashi glanced down at his sandal and pulled the mystery scroll from his front pouch. "So this is the seal I don't remember."

Gep swallowed hard and looked away. "Yeah, we picked you up a few days ago. But you got away, I guess you're better than all the others. I kinda knew you would be."

Well that filled in a few gaps. "Delivered to where?"

"There's a building on the edge of town, at least there used to be. Something, er, happened to it." He glanced up for a moment. "We used to take them, you, there and someone would come and pick them up."

"The same man?"

"I don't think so. I never saw him, but the boss always called him the old man, the one I saw didn't look so old."

Kakashi sifted through Gep's story. A man with black hair and strange eyes who created chakra seals. Kidnapping ninjas for who knows what reason. Manpower had always been a problem for Hidden Sound. Maybe this was Orochimaru's solution. Even if it wasn't he should report back. The question of the explosions could wait for now.

"So. You're home, I've got my information," he shrugged casually, "bye."

'You're going away already?"

Kakashi's one eye curved, making its trademark happy arc.

Gep's large eyes misted over with sadness, as if the copy nin's reaction had caused an equal and opposite response.

"Before you do there's something I'd really like to know. You said you'd give me an honest opinion. Did you do this _just_ for the information or did you want to help me too?"

Kakashi considered carefully. Why not tell the truth? There was enough similarity in Gep's brown eyes to some other brown eyes, to make him feel that he should.

"I'm glad I got you home, I really am. But if I could have got the information without taking the time I would have."

Gep's face fell even further. "Oh. Well suppose that's as much as I can ask for. I just hoped…"

"Listen Kid, I'm not sentimental. You're pretty smart. If you wanted out you'd have seen a chance sooner or later, and taken it. And you aren't quite the poor innocent victim either. I can't say I blame you, I don't suppose there was much opportunity in a small village for the kind of sex you wanted. But you had a pretty good idea what your 'boss' was all about when you let him fuck you the first time. You thought he was romantic and exciting didn't you."

The youth's sullen blush was sufficient confirmation. "He said he loved me. I would have stayed with him if he didn't screw everything else he can get his hands on."

Kakashi twitched, but he wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if he was shocked exactly. "If he loved you he wouldn't want anyone else. We all make choices and live by their consequences. That was his and this is yours."

Gep's eyes met his. "And yours?'

Kakshi had already given one honest answer, for some reason he felt like giving another. "I decided to take the chance that any information you had would be worth giving up a week for."

Gep's expression didn't change. He picked at the skin around his thumbnail with the finger next to it. "And was it?"

His thumb started to bleed and he stuck it in his mouth. It made him look endearingly childlike.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Yes. I think I got decent value. I think I can go home now too."

He took Gep's hand and pulled the thumb out of his mouth. Then he eased down his mask and licked at the blood still oozing from it, his wet pink tongue rolling around the callused digit as he sucked it into his own mouth. Gep gasped and jerked his head up, to find himself staring into two eyes. One of them blood red.

It swirled into a maelstrom of crimson and black.

Later that night a fully stealthed shinobi flowed with the ripples of the rice straw still standing in the terraced paddies, over the stone bridge that spanned the river, and on to the centre of the Village. He stopped at the largest house, adjusted his grip on his human burden and knocked on the door.

"Who the hell is it?"

The village elder groped around in the dark for something more substantial to throw over the old yukata he'd been sleeping in, as the pounding on his door resumed.

Knock knock knock.

Couldn't these damn ninjas leave them alone already? Every living soul in the village had already answered all their questions about Aya. No one had seen her or her husband Sato in more than a year, so why were they still being harassed in the middle of the night like this?

He opened the door to a tall white-haired man, in an unfamiliar uniform, supporting a very familiar looking youth.

"Yo. Stonebridge Village right?"

"What the hell? Little Gep?"

"Not so very little. Guess it's a while since you saw him last?"

The elder stood gaping like a fish out of water as he tried to collect his wits. "Please, er, come in come in Shinobi-san, can I offer you some tea or…"

Kakashi's eye curved into its familiar arc. "No thanks, got places I've got to be. Just making a delivery." His eye opened wide, deadly serious. "I came across two Cloud nins on the border with Fire, a man and a woman. He was already dead, the woman died soon after. She said this was her cousin, they'd rescued him from… somewhere. Anyway, I promised her I'd bring him home."

"You mean Aya is…"

"Yes I'm sorry. It looked as if they died saving him, I thought you'd like to know. But the kid here doesn't remember a thing. Complete amnesia, he must have had it pretty rough so be kind to him."

Well what was the point in being an accomplished liar if it couldn't do someone a little good now and then? If the kid wanted a ninja hero to look up to he'd give him one. Kakashi nudged the dazed young man in question across the threshold into the village elder's arms.

"Wait, please, Shinobi-sama! Let me get his parents, they'll never forgive me if I don't let them thank you in person. The rest of us had all given him up for dead long ago."

But the black rectangle of the open doorway was already empty, and Konoha's copy nin was crossing the valley on his way back to Fire Country.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was another four days before The Flying Fish edged its way between the savage rocks surrounding Wolf Island. As it turned out the propeller had been damaged, so they were reduced to half speed. And the only place where they had a chance for getting it repaired or replaced was Port Kaizoku. A town so notoriously dangerous that Iruka refused to allow them to even stop for fresh water. They could get by on the bitter desalinated stuff if they had to.

Then as soon as they arrived a storm had moved in, sealing off the island from the mainland. Suddenly Iruka was no longer an escort but a guest. All in all he liked it better being hired help.

Within a matter of hours the oppressive atmosphere of the island, and of Wolf Castle in particular, seemed to have taken over his soul. But on the plus side, Yoko had been surprisingly restrained since they'd been back. Somehow, now that she was dressed as a woman again, she just didn't have the overpowering sex appeal that she'd had before. Or maybe the castle deadened her spirit too.

Iruka was tired, very tired. The stress of the past week had caught up all at once, but he couldn't sleep. So for the second night in a row he sat on the great stone windowsill looking at the glowering sky. Once there had been stars in the sky, the same stars that shone over Konoha. But now the raging storm sealed over the island like a lid, sealing him in, sealing the world out. He was starting to feel that he had lived here his whole life. Konoha seemed distant, like a dream, or somewhere in a book. Only one part of it seemed real. A silver haired man with two colour eyes, and a smile that made his heart melt.

The word came out between a breath and a sigh. "Kakashi."

Or was he a dream too.

He spoke softly into the fierce uncaring wind. "Kakashi, if you _are _a dream please let me dream you tonight. Your ridiculous hair that gets everywhere and makes me sneeze, your bony knees pressed into the back of my thighs, your breath against my face as you're sleeping..."

Tears tracked down his face but he barely noticed. Trying to hold the image in his mind, he dragged himself over to the bed, and collapsed on top of the covers.

If the night brought demon visitors he was too dead to the world to notice. Or maybe Kakashi _was_ in his dreams, and kept them away.

A servant brought him breakfast, they exchanged smiles. In the distance he could hear the storm swept waves still pounding the shore.

"Good morning Umino-sensei, I trust you slept well."

Sensei? Yes he _was_ still a sensei.

"I have good news Umino-sensei, our Lord is back in the castle. He can see you later today."

"But… but I thought no one could come or go from the island right now. Not until the storm has passed."

The servant shrugged. "I don't know. I was just told to inform you that he'll be expecting you this afternoon."

Iruka killed the time by exploring the castle. It was huge, and exactly the way he always imagined a castle like this should be. Many of the rooms spare, almost empty. Others crowded with old armour and stuff. One fitted out as a dojo. But all of them completely deserted. He was surprised. He'd assumed it would take a staff of dozens to maintain a place like this.

Unexpectedly he came upon a small door that was quite different to the others. Heavily and exquisitely carved with scenes of mountains and forests, each with a wolf howling to the night sky. He opened it slowly and incense smoke billowed out to meet him.

"Please come in Umino-sensei."

He stepped into the darkened room. Then as his eyes accustomed to the gloom he saw a man seated in front of a low carved rectangle. An incendiary full of incense sticks standing on the top was the source of the smoke. He bowed and waited.

"The mother of the Wolf Clan, this is her final resting place. Do you know her story?"

Iruka took in the man's regal bearing, his long black hair, his silk robe spotted with stars. "Ookami-sama? Yes I learned the history of Wolf Island a little while ago."

"I'm the current Lord of this Island but I'm not an Ookami. Yoko is an orphan, I adopted her. And I wonder if you know the true story. That the wolf fled the mountains because she was injured fighting her own kind, and that she was alone because she'd killed her pack herself."

Iruka gasped in shock. It put a very different slant on the story to the version the abbot had told him. "But didn't she go _back_ to the mountains?"

"Yes. As much as she wanted to be human she couldn't deny her true nature. Her husband never gave up searching for her and he eventually found her remains and brought them here."

The Daimyou turned towards him, he hardly seemed old enough to have an adult daughter, even an adopted one. And there was something about the small part of his face that showed past his hair that seemed almost familiar. "Well Umino-sensei, let's talk of more cheerful things. I glad to have the opportunity to thank you in person for taking such good care of my daughter. I understand your journey wasn't without danger."

"Thank you My Lord, I was only doing my job. But if my mission is over I should go home now."

"Of course Umino-san, as soon as the weather cooperates. It's unfortunate that we've had two storms so close together. Meanwhile I hope you are comfortable as my guest."

His words set off an alarm. _You'll find we treat our guests well. Sometimes I suspect that my father hopes they'll never leave. _Was that a warning? Or a threat?

"If you'll excuse me My Lord, I would like to go back to my room. I have some things to do." He'd check though his weapons and sharpen them. If he had to he'd fight his way out.

The old man and the young woman who'd been evesdropping at the door slipped out of sight as he left. "So Yoko my dear, your last chance."

"And what if I can't seduce him. Isn't there another way we can get him to tell us what we need to know? Maybe bribe him, offer him something?"

The old man shook his head. "Not likely, he's a Leaf nin. They're loyal bastards, that's why we had to set up this whole charade in the first place. The only other choice is blood."

Yoko sighed. "Yes he's loyal. He has a girlfriend, he almost mistook me for her while we were coming back from Waterfall." She glanced at the old man. "It was dark."

"Then that's your answer, use his loyalty against him, make him think that you are his one true love."

She ran her fingers through her silver hair and rolled her eyes. "But how? I can't use a henge I've never seen her. Although she must be an ugly bitch, he called her Scarecrow."

The old man narrowed his eyes, a bright spark of energy hinting at the strength within his frail body. "Don't go spineless on me Yoko. Use the power of the blood mist, the illusion comes from his mind not yours. A henge or genjutsu fools the senses but the blood mist works directly on the brain, it creates an illusion in the brain _as if_ it is coming from the senses. It can make a mouse seem to be an elephant or an elephant seem to be a mouse. It is total deception."

She gulped. "You mean if I want him to see me as the woman he loves then he will, just like that?"

"Just like that."

Yoko sighed again, why did her heart feel like lead? "Ok I'll do it. I'll take him tonight."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

It took Kakashi three days to get back to Konoha from the far side of cloud country. Then as soon as he arrived Tsunade had him escorted from the gate to her office. He was annoyed, but knew how concerned she was, how anxious she was to find out what he had learned. To tell the truth he was just as anxious to tell it.

"Will you let Iruka know I'm back?" He whispered to Kotetsu, as he was ushered in. "This could take a while."

The chuunin shook his head. "He's not home yet."

Tsunade shot him an angry glance.

"Not home!" Kakashi repeated. "But he's been gone almost two weeks. A trip to Wave country then to Waterfall and back can't possibly take more than one."

The woman's irritation was palpable. "Not for a ninja, but he isn't travelling as a ninja. Princesses take their own sweet time. And who knows when they left. Nobles can have schedules even more relaxed than yours Kakashi.

The copy nin narrowed his visible eye. "We have friends in Waterfall, and Wave Country, he'd have let me know if he was going to be late."

The Hokage scowled in response, this was exactly the argument she'd hoped to avoid. "Humph, if I haven't heard in another week, another _full_ week, I'll send someone out to look for him."

"Someone?" Kakashi pounced on the word.

"Yes _someone_. The way things are I can't tie up a jounin with your skills checking up on a slow escort mission. Now, _if_ you don't mind, I believe you have some information for me."

Kakashi pushed his personal feelings aside. For now.

It took him almost two hours to debrief. He'd handed over the seal at once, then gone on to detail what he suspected about Orochimaru. Of the trade in captured nins and how they might even now be assembling for an attack on Konoha. He even described how he'd nearly become one of them. It should help drive home his point about the _very real_ danger. If a jounin could be trapped and captured… and Iruka was a week late. He mentioned _that_ at least a dozen times.

By the time he was done he was exhausted, mentally and physically. He bowed to Tsunade before stepping back into the mission room.

A voice greeted him. "Hatake-san."

He looked up lazily to meet the grin of the old bridge builder from Wave Country, Tazuna."

"Hatake-san, I'm so glad I ran into you. I was hoping to get a chance to see you again, actually that's the very reason I volunteered to deliver this mission request. How's Naruto and the rest of your young team?"

Kakashi pulled a hand out of his pocket to make his usual two fingered greeting. "Yo. Naruto and Sakura have both grown up to become fine young people. Their talent has exceeded all of our expectations. And how are your daughter and grandson."

If Tazuna noticed that Sasuke was missing from the list he didn't mention it.

"Thriving, thriving. The boy's becoming a skillful fisherman. I swear he can smell the fish under the water."

After his recent trials Kakshi found chatting with the old man ridiculously pleasant. It had a mundane ordinariness that was exactly what he needed to ground him back in village life.

"So what do you need this time? No more problems with international criminals I hope."

"No no. One of our merchants has a rather large sum of money to take to the Capital. He'll be needing some protection along the way."

A mission to Wave Country. Kakashi strove to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Well I'd love to take the mission but I've just been told to stick around for a bit."

He paused for a moment and scratched the back of his head. "But perhaps Naruto and Sakura could go, if they aren't already busy. I'm sure they would like to see your family again and maybe they could check out Wolf Island while they're in the area."

The old man looked puzzled.

"Wolf Island?"

"Yes, it's not far from you, I'm sure you've heard of it."

"Of course, but there's no one on Wolf Island these days. The last lord died more than a hundred years ago." The old man puckered his lips as he warmed to the subject. "It was a horrible tragedy, super gruesome, he ordered his vassals to slaughter each other, then he killed his whole family before committing suicide.From whatthe old stories say it wasn't the first massacre there either, the whole cursed place is steeped in blood. No one _ever_ goes there."

Tsunade appeared in her open doorway, flaring with the power of the world's strongest ninja.

"Go!"

Her command met a swirl of smoke and leaves. Kakashi had already gone.


	11. Chapter 11

That night, Iruka lay on his bed fully dressed and fully armed. As soon as the storm let up, and he meant the moment the last raindrop hit the ground, he was out of there. Just let them try to stop him from leaving. They'd soon learn not to mess with a Konoha chuunin.

The door opened and a white haired figure entered the room. He sat up and scooted to the far end of the bed, pulling his legs under him, ready to spring into an attack.

"I thought you'd be more pleased to see me."

"Kakashi?" Iruka approached, but carefully, he'd been mistaken before.

He unfastened the other man's jacket and slid his hands under it, pressing into the hard sheet of muscle. Definitely no breasts. Then quickly formed the seals for dispel. Nothing. This close there could be no mistake. The familiar hair, skin, smell, everything. He pulled off the headband and ran his finger down the length the other man's scar ending at the top edge of his mask.

As he stared into the depths of the sharingan, Iruka was lost. He eased the mask out of the way and gripped his lover's lower lip between his teeth hungrily, then forced in his tongue, tasting, feeling, probing. He didn't even realise he'd steered them over to the bed until Kakashi fell back onto it. He let himself collapse on top, trying to press their bodies into one, kissing, nipping, touching. Kakashi, his Kakashi, in his arms, finally. He was breathless, his heart pounding as if he was suffocating, but with excitement not fear. There could be no mistake, only one person could make his heart rejoice this way.

"Oh God Kakashi, it is you. I've wanted you so much, needed you so much."

Yoko was lost too. The sensations of Iruka's lips against her skin, his fingers in her hair, his tongue tangling with hers, sending jolts of pleasure through her. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't feel surprised that she _actually_ _wanted_ him to have her.

Not that she disliked sex exactly. In fact there were times when she'd gone out of her way to seek it out, but it was never more than a scratch to satisfy an itch. But right now she wanted it, really wanted it. Wanted Iruka. She hissed and arched her back as he ran his hands up her sides under her shirt. It had never felt like this before.

She eased off his jacket and started to undo his shirt, raising her head to dot a line of kisses on the lengthening sliver of tan skin. Skin that smelled hot and dry, like the autumn leaves outside that the wind had swept into little drifts and left for the sun to bake. She wriggled free of her clothes and spread herself beneath him. There was fire between her thighs, and heat on every part of her body that he had touched. She needed more, much more, of the same heat. It was the only thing that could quench the fire.

"Now Sensei! I want you inside me now!"

Iruka threw his uniform and weapons onto the floor with the other man's, he was so happy that he almost laughed.

"You want me on top?"

"Yes, why not?"

"I'm just surprised. Usually you want to take control, the first time. Especially when we've been apart for a while."

Yoko felt herself scowl inside. So this scarecrow woman was a controlling bitch too. She didn't deserve him. But right now he was hers. Both of her hands tracked down his body, his shoulders, his ribs, finding the hard ridge of a scar at the middle of his back. The discovery brought an unexpected pang. There were scars on her back too, thin lines from a lash. But hers were old and barely visible against her pale skin. This one was serious, he must have nearly died.

By now her roaming hands had reached the muscular globes of his buttocks. They tightened and quivered under her touch, chasing all other thoughts from her brain. She'd only get to enjoy her man once, she planned to make the most of it.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi moved as fast as humanly possible. Which in his case was a whole lot faster than almost any other human on the planet. He teleported ahead where he could, ran where he couldn't. Cursing any damn fool on Wolf Island who planned to harm his Iruka. Cursing Tsunade for letting a chuunin, a chuunin had hadn't taken a serious mission in over a year, go alone on an A class mission. Cursing himself for not being there to stop her.

But as night started to close in he was still far from the border with Wave. He'd been exhausted before he'd set out on this mad chase, and now his chakra was getting depleted too. The ice-cold logic of his reason told him that Iruka had been on Wolf Island for two weeks. Whatever harm might come to him was unlikely to happen at night. And even more unlikely to happen on this particular night, if… and it was the if that made his blood run cold…if it wasn't already too late.

Despite the dread in his heart urging him on, he knew that he should sleep until morning and give his energy a decent chance to recover. If Iruka _was_ in danger, he wouldn't be any use to him if he arrived as a worn out rag. There was a small shelter a few miles ahead, used by travelers on this road. He'd sleep there.

As he approached he smelled incense. Why did that fill him with suspicion? He leapt to the roof and focussed his attention. There was someone in there, someone familiar.

He slipped inside and crouched next to a large bald man in a dark robe.

"Sampo-kun? When did they let you out?"

Without betraying any hint of surprise, the monk ended his meditation and opened his eyes. "Hatake you old dog. I'm not a prisoner, I just have responsibilities. Doesn't give me the time to travel the way I'd like. But what are you doing here?"

"Looking for a missing shinobi."

"Oh hunting a missing-nin?"

Glad as Kakashi was to meet up with his old friend, the timing was bad, he really needed to sleep. He'd chat for a few minutes then excuse himself. "No. A ninja who's missing, it's different."

"Not that cute chuunin of yours?"

Suddenly the abbot had _all _his attention. "Why? Have you seen him?"

"He stayed at the shrine, a couple of weeks ago. He was with a woman he was taking to Hidden Waterfall."

So Iruka's mission wasn't _completely_ bogus, that was a relief. "He didn't stay there on the way back?"

"No. But I might have frightened him off. I came on a bit strong."

Kakashi narrowed his eye to a deadly slit. "You did what?"

The monk rose smoothly to his feet and took a step back, spreading his hands in front of him. "Hey calm down. How was I supposed to know you were still interested in him? It was three years ago you brought him there. Usually you move on after three days."

Kakashi was on his feet too, facing him across the small shelter. He was a good three inches shorter than the monk, and only half as wide, but his was by far the more menacing presence.

"I love him."

"You mean he was right? You are his?"

"Body and soul Sam. Body and soul."

The abbot laughed in a cautious attempt to break the tension. "Soo, I suppose that rules out anything between us tonight, for old time's sake." He paused taking the measure of the other man's response. "You can't tell me you don't want it. I know you too well, it's pretty obvious you haven't had any in a while."

Kakashi laughed too, as he folded his legs to sit back down. "I _could_ lie and say I don't want to, but the truth is I just… couldn't. I know how I'd feel if he cheated on me and I love him too much to ever make him feel that way." He shrugged and tilted his head to one side "So we're both out of luck."

The monk had been spreading his bedroll on the ground as they spoke. He lay down and pulled a blanket over himself. The pad was narrow, barely wide enough for his large body, but by stretching out along the far edge he was able to leave a narrow strip unoccupied.

"Can't say this is very comfortable, but it has to be better than that hard floor… if you change your mind…"

Kakashi shook his head, pulled out his blanket and snuggled under it against the cool damp air. "To tell the truth I'm so tired I could sleep in a barrel of shuriken tonight."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Yoko shifted a little under the silk sheets as she woke. This wasn't her bed. She turned to see dark hair spread on the pillow beside her, and remembered.

"Sensei."

So she really had done it. Killing a man had never hurt like this before. In fact part of her had always enjoyed it. It had always given her a feeling of superiority and power. But they had all been arrogant fools, high on their own mightiness. There was no joy in destroying this sweet man.

She sat up and stroked Iruka's silky hair away from his face and studied the quiet calm etched into his features. He'd died happy. They all did. Part of her wished that she had too. A tear rolled down the furrow between her nose and cheek and fell onto his forehead.

He brushed away the wet spot and opened his eyes. "Kakashi what's wrong, why are you crying? I… I've never seen you like this before. Wasn't it good last night?" With a pang of guilt he realised that he'd been so carried away he hadn't even thought to use lube. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Yoko sat staring at him, frozen in disbelief. It couldn't be! No one could survive the succubus jutsu, unless… She sifted through her mind for information about Konoha, there was nothing. An emotion crept up from the bottom of her heart, from the tiny space she'd been forcing it into, denying even its possibility. Unless she was in love with him. She remembered her sister's words. '_If you're willing to love a man, to give yourself the way a lover should, this evil blood limit of ours won't harm him_.'

Relief washed over her and her tears flowed freely. "No, it was good, perfect. Nothing's wrong, I'm just happy."

Last night she'd experienced the tenderness in Iruka's touch, his passion and without a conscious thought had matched it with equal passion. Just the memory made her heart pound, and her chest feel hollow. She wanted to grab him and hold him so close that he was forced into the space, filling the emptiness.

So this was love. She would do anything for this man, and anything to keep him. There were hundreds of jutsus stored in her memory, one of them must have the power to make him hers. She'd always got everything she wanted and that wasn't going to change now. She'd just have to be very clever… and very careful.

Iruka watched Kakashi watching him. Something _was_ wrong. First he'd shown up with no explanation and now he was being emotional, openly emotional. Gently, so gently, he brushed away his lover's tears. Then gripping his shoulders and pulling him into a deep kiss, he scooted onto his lap and hooked his legs around his hips, smiling into mismatched eyes. "So let's try something different this time."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The strong smell of sweet coffee permeated the little shelter. Kakashi packed up his blanket and stepped outside. Sampo was sitting beside a small camp stove, setting out rice cakes on a white cloth. He sat next to him and picked up one of the small cups of tarry liquid.

"Still drinking this filthy stuff?"

"Turkish coffee. Nothing quite like it to get you going in the morning. But you're awake early. Since when did you start getting up before the sun?"

The copy nin flashed him an unmasked grin. "Guess I just need the right motivation Sam."

"So you really love him that much."

The grin softened to a sweet wistful smile. Kakashi downed the coffee in a single gulp, crammed a rice cake into his mouth, and vanished. The monk watched the wisps of smoke he'd left in his wake melt away as he set up some incense for his morning meditation. That man was an enigma. A beautiful and dangerous enigma, and his lifetime's obsession.

Kakashi matched the landscape to the maps in his memory. If he could maintain this pace he should be at the bridge in a couple of hours. Then he'd need a boat.

One thing was bothering him, and he let it work itself out in the back of his brain as he ran. Iruka had gone to Waterfall, but had he come back? Was he, in fact, running in the wrong direction? At this point he was close enough to Wave County to feel that he should go there in any case. If Iruka was in Waterfall he was probably safe. He knew the Hero and trusted him. If, on the other hand, this so called 'client's' true destination had been Sound, he could do little by running in there alone and unprepared.

Every scenario directed him to Wolf Island as his first step. That mysterious blood soaked place was where he needed to go to find the right questions, if not the answers.

A faint hint of salt on the air told him that he was getting close. Then the sound of the surf led him to the Naruto Bridge. Under other circumstances he'd have felt nostalgic but right now all his focus was on finding a boat. At least the weather was good.

Wolf Island was as grim and forbidding as he'd imagined. Ringed with jagged rocks and surrounded by sheer granite cliffs. He'd needed to use his sharingan to follow the currents between them and to locate a narrow break in the natural defenses. He kept it uncovered as he secured the boat he'd 'borrowed' to a rock, then henged it into part of the same rock for good measure. A well-worn path led up the cliff. Mule tracks by the look of them, but none less than a century old.

The Island itself was almost as barren as its girdle of rock, but the stony ground and windswept trees were only half as forbidding as the ruin that rose from the crest of hills at its centre. Ookami Castle.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka broke their kiss with a dart of his tongue to claim one last lick, as he gulped in much needed air. "So what _are_ you doing here Kakashi?"

Yoko stared into his beautiful eyes. Ok. Time for part one of her plan. She'd replace the bitch in his heart later.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here because you are."

"Does anyone _know_ that you're here?"

Better to play it safe. "Not yet. I wanted to see you first. But I expect to be invited to stay."

Iruka was shocked. It was the last thing he'd expected to hear. "Stay? We can't stay. We have to go back to Konoha."

"If we stay here we can stay together." Time to see if he'd take the bait.

Iruka blushed scarlet. "But we are together. Most of the time."

Yoko was thinking fast. "Most of the time isn't enough anymore. Here we can ask for anything because we have something they want."

"You don't mean…you can't mean… Konoha secrets. I can't believe you'd even suggest such a thing. We can't betray our village."

Now she had to take a risk. She didn't know exactly what the regulations were in Konoha, but it was pretty obvious from what Iruka had said before that relationships between jounin and their subordinates were at least discouraged.

"Why not? It's betrayed us. Why shouldn't we be able to be together like any other two people who love each other? Why should we have to fit their rules? We'll use this to change Konoha, and it's not betrayal, it's necessary change."

Now Iruka was confused as well as shocked. "Are you really that unhappy with the way things have been? You've never said anything before."

She had to push harder. "Have I ever said I'm happy with it? I'm saying this now because _now _we have the perfect opportunity to do something about it. But we have to act together, you have to show them that _you_ are as valuable to them as I am."

She crawled onto him and crouched, one knee on either side of his hips and a hand at each shoulder. She'd plant the seed of an idea then nourish it until it bloomed and set fruit. "We can have allies, friends who can offer the power to change things, for the better."

"Kakashi you may be a genius, but you're wrong about this. If we want to change Konoha we should do it properly, as citizens, from inside."

Enough talk for now. She licked a swipe along the stubble roughened skin of his throat and jaw, enjoying the added sensitivity it gave her tongue, and the way it made his lips feel when she reached them.

So she was a genius. Good information, she'd be sure to use it to her advantage.

Iruka parted his lips to welcome the familiar tongue inside and gave himself up to the other man. Familiar fire was gathering in his groin. If he kept that tongue busy in other ways Kakashi wouldn't be able to talk treason and _he_ wouldn't have to think about it. Kakashi often confused him but now he was frightening him too. He felt a hand run up the inside of his thigh and gasped as he gave up any attempt at coherent thought.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi crept into the dilapidated castle, and cautiously investigated the few rooms and passages that had been cleaned and renovated. There was no sign of Iruka. Probing carefully he detected about a dozen people. A cluster in the kitchen and laundry, those must be servants. Another group in a room nearby, guards perhaps? And a powerful presence in a room not far away. The leader? There was something uneasily familiar about him. And it wasn't the only thing that was making him uneasy, the whole damn place reeked of blood. He reached further until he sensed a bright spot… Iruka. Thank god, he'd found him, and he was alive. There was someone else too but he didn't care about that.

He backtracked to where he had seen stairs. Using total stealth he closed in on the teacher's familiar chakra, it was bright, excited. Why? The bedroom door opened silently at his touch and he slipped behind the screen in the centre of the room. On the bed behind it he saw a heaving tangle of tanned and pale limbs, of white and black hair. No wonder Iruka's chakra was so bright. He was having sex… with a woman.

Kakashi's hand almost went through the fragile paper of the screen. He could hear Iruka's breaths, coming short and sharp, each one like a dagger in his heart. He knew that sound. It was too much, too painful, the room started to close in on him, his whole world closed in, squeezing him down to a hard nub of pain. Unable to stand any more he jutsued away and collapsed outside the building in the ruined garden.

If he'd stayed another minute he would have heard Iruka call out his name, then heard him say I love you Kakashi, as he planted breathless kisses all over Yoko's face and ran his fingers through her hair. But he hadn't stayed, and he knew what he had seen. The unthinkable. He'd really thought that in Iruka he'd found someone who loved him. Not for his looks, or fame, or strength like everyone else, but for himself. Obviously not. It was the silver hair and white skin, just like the others. And this silver haired woman could offer him everything that he couldn't, marriage, children, a real home.

Did this happen every time he was away for more than a few days? No, it wasn't possible. Someone in the village would have known. No one can keep secrets from that nest of gossips. But they weren't in Konoha now and at the very first opportunity Iruka had cheated on him with a pretty woman. It wasn't the first time he'd been with her either, Kakashi felt sick as he recalled the familiar way the teacher's hands had been sliding over her body. The exact way those hands had touched _him_ so many times. He'd been fucking this woman for weeks.

God it hurt, worse that when he'd lost his eye, he pressed his palm against the now covered sharingan, throbbing in sympathy with his splintered heart. He felt more than betrayed, he felt inadequate.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Yoko pushed Iruka away roughly as he leaned in to kiss her again. "That's enough."

She looked into his gentle face and saw those brown eyes looking back at her, so full of love. Love not meant for her. How she hated the scarecrow woman.

Catching herself mid scowl, she smiled sweetly then stood up to leave.

"You're going?"

"Yes. Just trust me, I'm a genius remember."

She'd better be. Convincing Iruka might turn out to be impossible, but that was going to be the easy part. She had to convince her father and her master to change their plans. Find a way to persuade them that Iruka was more valuable alive than dead. And she had a couple of hours at the most to come up with something.

Panic rose in Iruka's chest forming into a tight ball of pressure. "What are you going to do?"

She leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. "My love, I'll tell you, but later. Stay here for a while. I'll be back, we'll talk about it then."

He blushed. 'My love.' Kakashi had never called him that before.

Kakashi was right, he was the genius. He just had to trust him to know what he was doing. He rolled over into the pillow that still held the scent of the other man's hair, and sneezed. A happy chuckle welled up inside. That damn white hair got everywhere, the man shed worse than his dogs. But he was here, his Kakashi. They were together again. Compared with _that _everything else paled to insignificance.

ooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi braced himself against the broken wall of the garden. So that was why Iruka was in no hurry to go home, he had found something he liked better here. If he was a captive he was a willing one. Suddenly he was desperate to get away.

Fleeing the scene of horror like an exorcised demon, he made for the boat and the mainland, to the landmark he knew best, the Naruto Bridge. The bridge was strong and sturdy, the link between Wave and the mainland that was the foundation of their prosperity. Just as Naruto had been his link to Iruka, the foundation of their friendship, and later their love. Or so he'd thought. He felt like blasting the damn bridge into a million pieces.

The edge of the precipice was dangerously close and the abyss below it just as dangerously enticing in its emptiness. Why was he holding back? Clinging to this shred of human existence? He pulled out a kunai and ran a finger along its edge. One small step was all it would take to free him from this pain. The knife slipped from his fingers and lodged in the boards at the bottom of the boat with a dull thud. He stared at the ringed handle and triangular blade. It had found its mark perfectly in a knot in the wood. A blade was a weapon, a tool. It cut, it stabbed, and it killed. He was a tool as well, a killer. It had been his mistake to think that a dangerous weapon like him had any right to be a human being.

He let the rolling surf hold the boat against one of the piers, and wept for the first time since he was a small child.


	12. Chapter 12

Yoko sat alone in her room, thinking. Hoping desperately that her Master wouldn't intrude on her thoughts until she'd worked out a decent plan. She hadn't been this frightened since the day she'd grabbed her four year old twin's hand, and dragged her from the inferno that had once been their family's compound in Hidden Mist. What she needed now was the same focus she'd had then. The same determination to survive and to protect the one she loved most. Her ambition, his ambition, could wait.

One thing she _had_ learned was that action was always a better option than reaction. She had to face them, before they came to her.

The two men were in the great room waiting for her. Breakfast was set out on the low table before them, but for once not even the old man was eating.

"So you have it?"

She bowed her head and moved it slowly from side to side. "It didn't work, I warned you that he's different."

The old man started to rise. "Pity, but we've waited long enough."

"No wait, please Master, no blood. Let me try to turn him." She swallowed hard. "We can use this to our advantage."

He sat back down. "Go on."

She could feel him in her mind, and a cold shiver of sweat on her spine. "The children… they've always been the weakness in our plan. That's why you targeted a teacher in the first place right? Well if we had a teacher working _for_ us, one of _their_ teachers, we could avoid a lot of problems."

The robed man flicked the hair back from his eyes and stared at her intently. "You can do this?"

"I think so, he sees me as the woman he loves. I think I can convince him." Her eyes flashed to meet his briefly. "And you know that I have other… resources."

The men exchanged a glance. "Yes you do. Significant resources, but remember, so do we." He dismissed her with a wave. "Ok, we'll try it for a week, we can delay that long, but once the hardware's ready to go into position we can't afford to stop."

Yoko bowed out of the room as the old man stabbed at a plate full of dumplings. She'd revealed more than she intended, but she had a week. Now to make good use of it.

oooooooooooooooooo

A fishing crew found Kakashi lying unconscious in the bottom of the small boat, floating in the bay. He woke up lying on a futon, staring into a rough-hewn wooden ceiling, with someone seated beside him. Dark eyes and black hair hanging loose around a sweet caring face. It brightened into a smile as his eyes opened. His heart skipped a beat, but no… it was a woman. He recognised her at once. The bridge builderTazuna's daughter, Tsumami. It seemed that recently his life was filled with kind generous women. He couldn't bring himself to think about the cruel duplicity of the men, or rather man.

She blotted his eyes with a cool cloth then replaced the bandage that was tied loosely over his sharingan. "Do you exhaust yourself like this on every mission Hatake-san? It seems very reckless."

He just managed a thin smile in return as he pulled away the sheet that was covering the lower part of his face. It was sweet of her to arrange it that way, but not really necessary, he wasn't _that_ neurotic.

"No. It seems that Wave country is a particularly hazardous place. How long have I been here?"

"This is the third day, but you were badly dehydrated. You must have been out on the water for a few days before that."

Dehydrated. Yes he was very thirsty. He reached for the glass of water on the floor beside him. Tsunami got to it first and helped him to sit as he sipped at it.

"Would you like some food? You haven't eaten at all."

Food? He was hungry too, but with the dull edge of nausea that told him that his stomach had been empty for days. He guessed about five. Five days since his mad flight from Wolf Island. Five days lost in a deep pit of impenetrable grief.

"Some rice would be good, something easy to digest."

Tsunami smiled, pressed the glass into his hand and left the room. She came back a few minutes later with a bowl halfway filled with rice porridge.

"Careful, it may be a little hot. And eat slowly. Those rocks claim a few ships every year in bad weather, folks around here know how to take care of shipwrecked sailors who haven't eaten in days."

Kakashi took the bowl and tasted it tentatively. To his starved tastebuds even this most bland of foods seemed bursting with flavour, filling his mouth with saliva so that he almost drooled. With each mouthful his hunger increased but he took her advice and ate slowly. Eventually, as his belly filled, he felt warmth and strength returning to his body.

She took away the empty bowl. "Good. I'll bring some more in about an hour. Take it easy until then or you might throw up. Call if you need anything." She looked back as she was leaving the room. "By the way, was your mission a success at least?"

This time Kakashi pulled up the sheet himself as he lay down. He could hide the pain in his voice but not his face. "No. Not yet."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka shivered, feeling the warmth his lover had left on the skin of his back and shoulders gradually dissipate. "You still haven't explained. Not properly."

Yoko rolled him over and brushed her lips against his. "I will, I promise. Just trust me."

"But you've been saying that for days and you still haven't told me anything except 'we need to stay here a little longer'." He grabbed her hands and held them against his neck, his eyes wide and pleading. "See I do trust you. I know you could kill me right now with a twitch of your fingers."

"It's not just me you need to trust. Answer their questions this time. They're our allies, show that you trust them too."

Iruka turned over onto his side and curled into a ball. "I can't. It makes me feel like a traitor. Even when I tried it just wouldn't come out. If you want them to know then why don't you tell them yourself."

"Because they need to hear it from you."

"Then explain what's going on. I can't understand things the way you can. I need help. You can't expect me to just go against a lifetime of training."

Yoko sighed. She was so close. She'd successfully muddled his thinking past all his original objections, made him accept her presence here as a Konoha jounin without question, but he still kept his secrets. Maybe she _should_ explain everything. If he knew that he was the only hope for Konoha's children then he would have to cooperate. But then he'd hate her as much as the others.

"I have to go now."

Iruka watched Kakashi gather his clothes and take them into the bathroom. He was half tempted to follow, but only half. Since he'd first arrived on this island everything had gone wrong. Even the sex didn't feel right anymore.

Yoko had her own problems. Once she was dressed she made her way to the great wooden door on the floor below to give her daily progress report. But she had no progress _to_ report. And she was running out of time, and excuses.

She was tempted to take Iruka and run, maybe her sister could offer them refuge in Hidden Waterfall? But she knew that was just a dream. Her master's blood flowed in her veins. He owned her. There was no place on earth where she could escape him. This was the bargain she'd allowed to be forced on her, reluctantly at first, the Blood-warrior Ketsuekimusha's blood and the power of the blood mist. She had become his heir, accepted his ambition as hers, in return for simple survival and the safety of her twin.

Yoko took a deep breath and pushed open the door. There was nowhere to go but forward.

"You're methods are taking too long Yoko."

She felt like a trapped animal facing into the hunter's guns. "But… but you said a week."

"And by tomorrow it will have been a week. What do you have for us so far?"

"I'm making progress, it won't take much longer. Blood takes time too, and it's more risky."

"But it never fails."

"I won't fail, I just need more time."

The old man set something on the table in front of her. "Maybe you should try softening him up a bit. It was useful for a student of mine who resisted… at first." It was a black leather whip.

Yoko sucked in a harsh breath and pulled back.

The old man looked at her,with a sly gleam in his eyes. "If you're too squeamish perhaps I should do it for you."

She felt panic rising inside her, panic and helplessness. The old man enjoyed blood and pain too much, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. When Iruka was hers, and Konoha was hers, _then_ she'd make it up to him. Without a word she turned and left the room. Left the castle. She'd walk along the rocks, at the edge of the ocean. The sound of the sea and the surge of waves had been her refuge from life's harsh realities for as long as she could remember.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Kakshi woke the next day he felt almost normal. Even his muscles were stronger and less cramped than he'd have expected, had someone been massaging them? Someone must have undressed him too, and put on the loose Yukata he'd woken in the day before. Tsunami? His inner pervert couldn't resist a smirk. He may be heartbroken but he could still appreciate the idea of a woman's touch.

Soap and shampoo were set out next to his futon, along with a towel and his uniform. Neatly folded. A large bucket, which still had the lingering odour of bait, held his weapons. Well he could take a hint. After his bath, dressed and rearmed, he felt completely normal. Or at least as completely normal as he could hope to feel for some time.

He wandered into the kitchen where Tsunami was preparing breakfast, and arranged his body in a perfect slouch astride a large round stool at the wooden table.

"Looks good. Will you let me eat real food today?"

She poured tea into a tall clay cup and handed it to him. "Yes, I think so. As long as you don't overdo it."

He smiled, his eye arching, as he blew gently at the steam rising from his tea. "Am I that well known as a glutton?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You've been my guest before, but now that we've seen you without your mask at least you won't have to eat quite so fast."

She was rewarded with the ghost of a pink blush on his pale cheeks and turned back to the stove to hide her own heightened colour.

"So Hatake-san, now that you're feeling better, is there anything in particular you'd like for dinner?"

He noticed the tightness in her voice and the flutter in her pulse rate. It made him uneasy. "Please don't go to any trouble, I'm sure I've inconvenienced you enough already. And don't be so formal, call me Kakashi."

Now her heart was pounding. She turned around and bowed deeply. "Hatake-san… Kakashi, as you know my whole family owes you our lives, and my son much more than that. I am truly honoured to have the opportunity to help you in even this small way."

There was a long awkward silence. Kakashi sipped at his tea and tried not to react as it scolded his tongue.

"Then please make anything that you think you do well. I know that I'll be able to taste the care you put into it." He'd milk sympathy for all it was worth but gratitude made him squirm.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. His breakfast sat untouched on the table in the far part of the room and the tea he'd been drinking had turned cold at his bedside. He had made his decision, he would take a boat and he would leave. Today. With Kakashi or without him. If the other man really felt that his future was here then there was nothing more he could do to persuade him, and nothing at all he could do to stop him. But _his _duty was with Konoha and its children. He'd been away from them far too long now. He would go back.

There was a stirring in the air as the door opened. Iruka didn't need to look up to see who it was, only Kakashi could walk like that. With footsteps so close to silent, but making just enough of a whisper to announce his presence to those who knew what to listen for.

"Kakashi."

"Yes my love." The old man almost snickered, shaking his white head with amusement. So he _really did_ call his beloved 'scarecrow'.

"Please listen carefully. I've put a lot of thought into what I'm about to say." He sighed and sat up, looking at the other man. Hope not quite completely gone from his eyes. "Look, you're a jounin and I'm a chuunin. And as we both know, your rank automatically makes you my superior officer anytime we're outside Konoha."

The old man listened. So just where could this be leading?

"Now normally that means I'll obey your orders without question… but…"

"But?"

Iruka took a deep breath. "But it doesn't apply to treason. You have no right to order me to do something that I believe could harm our village.

The old man smiled, he liked where this was going. "That's where you're wrong. You have to do as I say, obey me, and if you don't I'll have to teach you Sensei."

He crossed to the bed and lazily started to take off Iruka's shirt, slipping one button after another through its buttonhole at an agonisingly languid pace. Iruka caught his breath, trying not to respond to Kakashi's pale callused fingertips grazing against his skin. But as the last button came undone he couldn't resist shrugging his shirt off and letting it slide to the floor. Suddenly his wrists were grabbed by strong hands and steel cuffs were clamped onto them. Then he was jerked forward so that he fell face down on the bed and he heard the clank of chains being secured, stretching him spread-eagled across the cover. He pulled his head up from the pillow struggling to see Kakashi behind him, then cried out as much in surprise as pain as he felt a whip bite into his skin.

"Aghh Kakashi what…?

There was hot breath on his shoulder as his lover whispered into the nape of his neck. "Are you ready to obey me yet?"

Another crack and another cut across his back. His whole body flinched. Biting into the pillow he braced himself for more pain as he realised the truth.

This was _not_ Kakashi. It was an illusion. It had to be. Kakashi _would not_ do this.

He held onto the thought through each new blow, an illusion, as the pain compounded, not Kakashi, pushing him to the edge of oblivion. Kakashi wouldn't do this, not to him. He didn't even feel the chains being removed, but he forced himself to be alert enough to know when his tormentor left.

Eventually, when Yoko was sure the coast was clear, she unlocked the door and crept in. She found him lying half-conscious, bleeding into the sheets. Iruka was faintly aware of Kakashi coming back, of gentle words and gentle hands soothing healing ointment onto his back. All his attention was focussed on trying to break through the illusion. But it was still Kakashi's damp tearstained face that pressed against his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Please don't resist, you'll give in eventually, everyone does. Don't make them hurt you again."

He gritted his teeth. "Why the hell do you care?"

"Because I love you."

Damn they were good. He could feel the heartfelt sincerity and the stifled sob under the words. Despite everything he almost believed it was true.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi went out to the dock and sat looking at the stars. The same stars he'd spent so many cool summer nights and cold winter evenings looking at with Iruka. His life really sucked.

He made space for the person he'd sensed behind him. "Good evening Tsunami."

She sat alongside him. "Good evening Kakashi. You've made a remarkable recovery."

"I've received good care."

He sensed more than saw her blush. It reminded him painfully of someone else who blushed easily.

"Thank you. I wish the circumstances were happier, but I'm glad I've got to know you a little better. When you were here before, three years ago I suppose, everything was so… awful, and crazy, and frightening. I'm glad I've had the chance to see that you're actually much nicer than I'd thought."

Kakashi snorted. "You've caught me with my guard down."

She laughed. "You mean your mask?"

"That too."

She reached towards his face, hesitated, then sensing permission in his stillness pulled his mask down to his throat. "You look much more attractive without it, like this."

Kakashi was tempted. She was older than he was but still very pretty. And she was offering more than sex. Comfort, solace, things he needed right now, needed a lot.

He shook his head and replaced his mask. "I was in a long-term relationship that ended very recently. Ended… very badly."

She sucked in a deep breath and folded her hands on her lap, staring out to sea. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have thought you would be such a romantic."

"Neither would I."

Her heart went out to him as if he was a hurt little boy. No doubt she'd be going through this with her own boy in a few more years.

"I should probably keep quiet, and it's a long time since I was in this kind of situation, but when you have enough distance I'm sure you'll realise that it's all for the best. That it was really all over a long time ago."

He remained silent so she continued. "You must admit that your reputation is pretty scary, I can't imagine that you're someone that it's easy to just say goodbye to."

Kakashi held in his reaction. Tsunami had hit a nerve. He'd been a killer since he was a child and Iruka must know him well enough by now to know that there _was_ a limit to even his iron control. "Maybe."

He pulled his mask back down for a moment to kiss her cheek, then stood and walked back to the house. "Say goodbye to Inari for me. I'll be leaving early. It's time for me to retrieve my target."


	13. Chapter 13

Kakashi's second trip to Wolf Island was both easier and harder than the first. Easier because he'd been given a small motor boat to use, and because he already knew his way around the rocks. Harder because he knew what he'd find. Before he'd been in terror of being too late, of finding Iruka hurt… or dead. But this time there was no hope. He knew that, for him at least, Iruka was already lost.

He tied up the boat, leapt up the cliff and ran along the dusty road to the castle. Somehow no matter how dry and clear the air on the mainland, this place was foggy. Not clean seafog either but reddish smog that seemed to have absorbed the rank odour of the island's blood soaked soil.

Inside the castle he stealthed upstairs, picked the lock, took a deep breath, then swung open the door. Beyond the screen Iruka was sitting on the far end of the bed with his unbuttoned shirt hanging open. Shoulders hunched, head drooped, staring at nothing. Kakashi was shocked to see him so disheveled, or was the word debauched? Dark eyes that were reddened and heavily circled turned towards him. Iruka looked really tired, he obviously hadn't slept well last night, if at all. The reason why wasn't exactly a mystery.

When Iruka saw _him_ he jerked back in surprise, falling off the bed in a graceless sprawl. "Keep away from me. Damn you, I'll never be what you want. Just leave me alone."

Kakashi's guts twisted into a knot. So that was the way it was going to be. "Iruka, I've been sent to get you, you're to come with me. Now." He reached to grab his arms.

His weapons were gone but Iruka wasn't defenseless. With a few quick seals he blasted the other man across the room. "I'm not going anywhere with you, just leave me alone dammit."

Kakashi quickly regained his footing and brushed his hand across the wall. He didn't think he could get any angrier, but for a chuunin the man had power, the stones were chipped where he'd crashed into them.

"I won't tell you again, you're coming with me."Despite his efforts to stay calm, hisvoice was clipped and harsher than he'd intended.

In three swift moves he bound the smaller man hand and foot, slung him over his shoulder, and teleported beyond the castle walls. Iruka didn't struggle as much as he'd expected, and he seemed lighter than he remembered too. It was probably just adrenalin. But if so that wasn't the only thing making his heart pound.

Contact with the other man set sent flames of desire raging through him. The scent of his hair and skin was saturating his senses, and forcing him to use chakra to prevent blood from gathering somewhere that was way too inconvenient right now. He was acutely aware that if he turned his head just a few inches, he'd be able to brush his lips across the caramel flesh revealed by the flapping shirt. The tip of his tongue slipped between his lips under his mask, as if it had a will of its own, craving the taste and texture of that delicious tan skin.

Kakashi bit down on his tongue, hoping the pain would sharpen his focus. Even Morino Ibiki couldn't think up torture this brutal. It wasn't working, he had to stop and calm himself for a few moments, collect his scattered wits before he could go on. He spotted a small ruined house against a stand of weather-beaten trees. It would do. Most of the roof had caved in but the walls were still standing. It would hold his prisoner well enough for as long as he needed.

Seasons of fallen leaves had collected on the floor and matted to form a natural covering, littered here and there with rocks that may have once anchored the roof. Kakashi entered through the doorless opening, dumped Iruka in a corner and untied him. He knelt down, taking a few long moments to reacquaint himself with that treacherously sweet face. Iruka's eyes looked glazed, dead, with his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

Kakashi felt like hitting him just to get a response. "Dammit Iruka! Look at me! Don't you at least owe me that much?"

He grabbed the teacher's face in his hands, forcing him to look forward. Grateful as never before that his mask was hiding most of the anguish on his own face. "It's alright, I get it. Whatever was between us, or that I thought was between us, is over. I'm sorry if I scared you into something that you didn't really want."

He stroked upwards snapping a hairband, spreading the other man's hair so that it hung loose around his face. Then grabbed his head from behind, roughly this time, and pulled down his mask enough to bruise their lips in a fierce kiss.

"Fuck! I've been thinking about you all the time. Every fucking day. I've been dreaming about you."

He ran his hands down, beneath the open shirt, feeling tight muscles that flinched and quivered at his touch, down further to the waistband of his pants.

His voice was low and dangerous. "Have you any idea how much I've wanted you? How much I want you right now?"

The other man looked up, eyes dead, face blank. "Just do whatever you're going to do and go away. Hurt me, rape me if you like, it doesn't matter."

Rape him? That's what he expected? Kakashi flipped the smaller man onto his stomach as rage flared through him, hot tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes.

He crouched overIruka's limp body, on all fours, breathing words into his ear. "You think I'll force you. For as long as we've been together _that's_ what you think I'll do?"

Iruka's voice had no more emotion than his eyes. "You're not him. You can't trick me anymore so just beat me or kill me, or whatever you've come to do. Be cruel or kind, it doesn't matter, I'm past the point where you can confuse me. I just don't care anymore.

Some note of sincere desperation made it's way through the copy nin's rage, making his mind reel in confusion. "Iruka look at me, it's me Kakashi."

The teacher turned his head and brown eyes met his but stayed completely expressionless. "I told you, you can't trick me anymore. You're good. You look just like him, and sound like him, you even move like him. You really had me fooled for a while. Maybe I wanted to be fooled because I missed him so much, but it doesn't work anymore."

What was going on? Kakashi grabbed the other man's shoulders, sinking his fingers into the flesh. Iruka hissed and flinched in pain. He pulled his hands away sharply then gently lifted the back of the teacher's shirt.

"God Iruka! What have they done to you?"

"Ha! Yes that's good. What have _they _done." Iruka didn't move. He felt as if his body as well as his heart had turned to stone.

The agony of the truth cut through Kakashi like a jagged blade. So Iruka was trapped in a genjutsu, an illusion. He remembered what he'd seen a week before. The image, copied perfectly by the sharingan, flashed before his eyes. Iruka's back, the back he'd seen heaving and bucking in passion, had been unmarked except for the faded familiar scars. Now it was torn to pieces.

Kakashi's hands started to tremble, despite every once of his will directed at controlling them. He thrust them deep into his jacket pockets. Something small and hard touched a fingertip. It was the letter Iruka had written before he'd left, folded into a tiny square. Kakashi had memorised every word, but it was the last few sentences that stuck in his mind. 'I'm not clever with words the way you are Kakashi, so I'll just say this the way I mean it. I love you with all my heart and I know that you love me. And as long as we both hold onto that one small truth, neither distance nor even death can ever keep us apart.'

A tear seeped into his headband from the sharingan. These were words written by a lover, not a hypocrite. Iruka _did_ love him. He always had. Could the genjutsu have deceived Iruka into thinking that he was having sex with _him_? It would explain a lot. And he'd run off and left the person he loved most to be brutally whipped. He should have known, should have trusted him. Whoever did this, he'd kill them.

Kakashi rose to his feet. "Come on I'm taking you home."

Iruka rolled over and scooted away so that he was against the wall in the corner of the room. He grimaced in pain as his back made contact with the rough stone. Kakashi caught his hands easily, to stop him from forming seals, then tried to calm the desperate man. "Iruka please, just relax and let me help you. You're going to hurt yourself."

Iruka tried to free himself from the loathsome hands. He tasted bitter bile as his stomach heaved in disgust and he retched onto the ground.

"See, you make me sick. I…I can't take any more. Haven't you stolen enough from me? Just leave me alone, let me die."

The next move didn't really need any thought. A quick blow to back of the skull and he collapsed into a ragged heap. Kakashi slung him over his shoulder and ran towards the path. There was no time to waste on niceties.

Yoko picked up on the unfamiliar chakra the instant she set foot in the castle, and followed in a cloud of red mist. Someone had taken Iruka from her, and that was something that couldn't be allowed. They'd be headed for the break in the cliffs, it was the only place on the island where a boat could land. That was her advantage, she knew this island and they did not.

Kakashi talked gently and calmly as he carried his precious burden, even though he knew Iruka couldn't hear. Finally when they were a few hundred feet from the cliff and the air was fresh with salt from the pounding ocean, he stopped. Someone was blocking his path. Someone shrouded in red mist. He set Iruka on the ground.

"We've been followed and I can't get past him without a fight. I'll come back as soon as I can then we can work this all out."

Fearful of leaving his lover unprotected but unwilling to have him too close to the battle, Kakashi halved the distance between him and his adversary in an eyeblink. She recognised him at once. The Konoha man, Sharigan Hatake. So this teacher _was_ a rare prize if they'd sent their very best to get him back. Hatake would be quite a bonus too. If she captured him maybe the secret for transferring blood limits would finally be revealed.

Yoko stood her ground, so what if he was a famous jounin, the son of White Fang. She's taken the power and the skills of half a dozen jounins. And she wasn't alone. She could feel Ketsuekimusha's blood in her veins, the power of the blood mist enhanced her chakra to ten times its normal level. She could take him, she had to. It was the only way to get back the man she'd made hers. She reached deep into her reserve of stolen jutsus.

Kakashi froze. It was a woman on the road ahead of him. The very woman he'd seen with Iruka in the bedroom, the scene that was burned into his memory. Every conflicted emotion in his body turned to fury.

Iruka woke groggily and rolled into his side. He saw white fire playing in the palm of Kakashi's hand as he faced… another Kakashi. He wasn't even surprised, clearly he'd lost his mind. Everyone was Kakashi now. The battle unfolded like a puppet show. One of the Kakashi's would kill the other, it didn't matter which, or perhaps they'd both die. Neither of them was real, maybe none of them were. Perhaps the copy nin had been a figment of his imagination all along. He smiled to himself, most likely. What real man could be so perfect, so beautiful, so strong? And if such a creature existed how could he possibly be his?

Kakashi molded the chakra in his hand. The fire in his eye burned just as bright. He'd heard that violence was the most intensely lived of all experiences, especially when living was only one possible outcome. And he stood poised on its razor edge. Ready to live or die, for duty…but much more than that, for love.

"Damn you woman, you made him hate me!"

Yoko stopped, her hands half formed into the first seal. She took in the lean scrawny figure, the shaggy white hair, and all at once her mind joined the dots. Sharingan Hatake, Hatake _Kakashi_, so that's why he was here. _He_ was the scarecrow, her rival, her lover's beloved.

She completed the seals and unleashed a hail of ice daggers. "I'll cut out your heart scarecrow, he's mine now."

"Never."

Kakashi countered with a sheet of white fire that reduced them to harmless water.

She hesitated, what kind of chakra was this? Ordinary fire shouldn't melt her ice. But she had dozens, hundreds, of other jutsus. A moment later blades of flame were roaring towards the copy nin leaving paths of scorched earth in their wake.

Kakashi knew he could dodge them easily but then they'd be headed straight for Iruka. He heaved a wall of rocky soil in front of him. It would let the woman escape but that didn't seem so important now.

The blades slowed but burned through the barrier, demolishing it as if it was a cardboard fake. Well he had other jutsus too, more than a thousand of them. Flaming ribbons burst from the space between his hands, catching the blades and burning them to ash in their hotter fire. Then encircling Yoko in a wall of conflagration. She sent a fountain of silvery bubbles erupting from its center, each one eroding the wall by trapping a flame inside and floating it harmlessly into the sky like a tiny sun.

Kakashi glanced back at Iruka, who was levering himself up onto his elbows. Enough, he had to finish this.

As he flashed through seals the waves below the cliff swirled into the form of a great white beast. Zabuza's water dragon poured up over the rocks, extinguishing the remaining fire and circling the pair like a tornado. Yoko paused in the middle of the seals she was forming. She knew she was beaten. It wasn't just his power, although that was certainly impressive, it was the ferocity of his determination. With all the lives and jutsus she'd stolen, she couldn't match this. But the blood still could. A ruby drop fell from her hand to the ground. As it touched blood oozed to the surface, from deep within the soil, forming thick puddles of crimson. It bubbled like the muck at the edge of a swamp, sending puffs of red into the air.

This soil had been steeped in blood for generations. Blood of murdered innocents that seethed with malice. The dragon let out a scream as deep and desperate as a sinking ship, then melted away into the red mist.

Kakashi gasped for air as the red vapour clung to him, slowing his movements, chilling him with its murderous intent. Even a genius couldn't fight the dead. But then again… If the power of the sharingan could cross the _living_ to another dimension, why shouldn't it be able to cross over the dead? Guide them along the path they'd lost?

He hadn't had time to focus the necessary chakra but the mist was closing in on Iruka too, drawn to his hatred and anger. Fixing the eye where the woman's blood had fallen, he focussed all his energy. The sharingan swirled, there was a pulse in the mist around him, a change in intent from murder to fear. Another pulse… curiosity, and finally understanding, as it started to stream through the tiny portal he'd opened.

Yoko saw the mist disappearing into the ground, her wall of defense collapsing. But Kakashi was close to collapsing too, his chakra so low that there was almost a void around him. She had one last chance.

She drew her sword. So it was down to this, hand to hand. The two most powerful jutsu users in the world, the two who'd taken hundreds of different jutsus, from dozens of different people, would fight their final battle like common soldiers. Well maybe not so common, one of her first victims had been the famous swordsman Zatoichi. She'd taken his life and his skills when she was just fourteen. A ninja genius like Hatake had probably never bothered to master such ordinary techniques.

Kakashi pulled out his short sword in response. Fatigue pressed onto him like a leaden cloak but all he could feel was relief. His available chakra was spent but he hadn't had time to tap into his deeper reserves of strength.

He spoke softly but firmly, his voice carrying across the wet bloody soil. "Surrender now. Just let me take him, there's no need for this to continue."

The woman shook her head. "I'll die before I give him up."

Then so be it.

Kakashi watched as she took her fighting stance. He blinked, it couldn't be. Only the swordsman Zatoichi used that move, and he was killed by one of the Succubus sisters.

A smile curled Kakashi's lips in wry amusement. So that's who he was fighting, the Succubus, no wonder Iruka had been deceived. The feared blood limit siblings whose family had, according to rumour, been the main motivation for the purge of blood limit lines in Hidden Mist. They seduced men with their beauty. Then when their victim's defenses were useless, at the moment of sexual release, they'd take their knowledge, their jutsus and their lives. Too gruesome and bloody even for Bloody Mist.

Under other circumstances he'd have stopped to wonder how Iruka was still alive.

Yoko lunged forward. Kakashi danced away, weaving around her like a silk banner in a breeze, anticipating every move. Slash, feint to the left. Stab forward, take a step back. Strike from above, leap overhead to land behind. This was getting nowhere. She took up the stance for Zatoichi's ultimate killing attack. The air prickled around them with the cutting forces charging her blade. She drove the sword forward to his heart with laser accuracy and lightening speed… it passed harmlessly under his left arm.

As he'd predicted it brought her within reach. Before she could recover her balance, he struck deep into her right shoulder and brought his blade down in a sweep across her belly. She stared at the gaping edges of her wound, more in surprise than pain, and sank to her knees holding in her entrails with both hands.

One blow. That's all he'd needed. Sharingan Hatake truly was a genius. She hadn't really had a chance. There was no shame in losing, the sting came from regret.

Blood rushed in her ears, mixed with her sister's voice. _'Find someone to love and you can live like a normal woman, like me.'_

"So Scarecrow, every time he made love to me he thought I was a man." She made an effort at a smile. "Well I suppose that explains some of the things he tried to do."

She coughed painfully and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth. Her expression became grim, as if she was fighting back tears. "That means there was no way he would ever have really loved me was there?"

Kakashi stood over her fallen body, kunai in hand, ready to deliver her deathblow. _Now_ he understood. She loved Iruka, just as he did. The infamous Succubus who had used love to lure so many men to their deaths and to steal their power and their jutsus had fallen in love. It didn't justify what she'd done here, but in a perverse way it explained it.

Yoko pulled herself up painfully, reached for the weapon in his hand and pulled it down into her heart. It didn't matter now, there was no escape for them. She'd leave the rest to her Master, Ketsuekimusha. The power of the blood mist would reunite her with her love, in death.

Hundreds of miles to the northeast, a young woman gasped and set down the pot of fish stock she was preparing. Her legs trembled and folded under her so that she was kneeling on the cold tile floor, then she tore at her long white braid, and cried.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A.N. Sooo… someone had to write it sometime. A fight to the death for the love of Iruka-sensei.

A. N. 2 I know, I know I'm sorry. I'm too much of a bleeding empath, I just can't _do_ completely villainous villains. Bad Tampopo, back in your box, don't you know that animé villains are evil and vicious, especially the white haired ones (no pun intended but isn't Cowboy Bebop the best ever?).


	14. Chapter 14

Kakashi left Yoko's corpse in a pool of blood, hers and her ancestor's, soaking slowly into Ookami Island. Iruka was lying where he'd left him, he crouched at his side, not sure what to do. The teacher pulled himself up onto his knees, staring hard at the rocky soil.

"Kakashi?" The voice was so faint that he could barely hear.

He leaned closer, pulling down his mask "Yes I'm here."

"It is you? The real you?"

"Yes it's me."

Iruka's eyes were still fixed on the ground. Kakashi had never seen anything look so defeated, not even a whipped dog. But then he'd never seen a dog whipped so savagely.

"I saw her, at the end. It was Yoko wasn't it?"

"Yes. She's dead. She hurt you so I killed her."

Iruka bent closer to the ground and covered his face with his hands. Kakashi could feel his anguish as if it was his own. His blood ran cold. Not for her, please, don't let Iruka be grieving for her. He felt like fleeing straight back to Fire Country.

Instead he took a deep breath to steady his voice. "Are you sorry that she'd dead?"

The teacher shook his head but didn't look up. "When I thought she was you I… we…" he stopped as his voice cracked, "I feel… I just feel so…"

Thank god, that was all. "I know. I saw you."

Iruka froze. Every muscle locked and rigid. Kakashi felt raw tension coming off him in waves.

"A week ago. I saw you together, I thought that's why you hadn't come home."

A tremor passed through the teacher's body. "You must hate me."

"No, I could never hate you. I just love you too damn much."

Iruka raised his head just enough to shoot a tentative look in his direction. "Will you… will you hold me?"

It was all Kakashi could do to keep from crushing him against his chest and drowning him in kisses. "But won't that hurt?"

The look in Iruka's eyes would have broken a heart of stone. "Not as much as you not holding me."

Kakashi gently snaked his arms around the other man and pulled his head against his shoulder. "It's alright now, she's dead, we're together. I'm going to take you home."

Despite his soft words, Iruka could see the hurt in Kakashi's face. He shuddered one more time then let go. Screaming like a wounded animal in his fury at those who'd injured both his body and his soul, and at himself for letting them.

Finally he was spent, curled into his lover's chest, quiet but for the occasional sob that still racked through him. Kakashi hushed and petted him like an injured child. Kissing the tears off his face. Not sure if he could ever heal the cursed woman's betrayal.

"I'm sorry Kakashi. If…" sniff, "if I was strong like you this never would have happened. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I'm so pathetic. You deserve so much more, someone better than me."

"Iruka no. Shush, listen to me, just listen. You are strong, you're incredible. That woman was the Succubus, from mist. I've heard of her even if you haven't. She's killed plenty of men stronger than you. Stronger than me. No one's ever held out against her for a full night, but you survived for more than two weeks. So no more tears ok." He cradled his face in his hands and placed a kiss on each hot swollen eye. "You're making me all wet."

"Wet!" Iruka opened his eyes wide and looked around. "It isn't raining. It's been pouring for days, weeks, but nothing is even wet."

Talking about the weather wasn't high on Kakashi's priorities, but it was a good enough distraction. "Mmm, must have been part of her genjutsu, to keep you on this island by making you think there was a storm."

"But it wasn't a genjutsu, it couldn't have been. I tried dispel several times, just to be sure. To think I've been cooped up in that castle with its stink of blood all this time… It's all been one huge deception hasn't it? And I fell for it, hook line and sinker."

Kakashi looked at him hard. "Blood." He lifted his headband and recreated the image of the swirling red mist. "You're right, it wasn't a genjutsu, that's why the sharingan couldn't see through it. It was blood, real blood, in the mist. This whole island is soaked with blood. That bitch used it the way the Nara clan uses shadows. Somehow the blood in that red mist controls everyone covered by it. But it doesn't control their bodies, it controls their minds."

"You mean it got into my brain? Made me see things and feel things?" He pulled back far enough to shoot a glance between Kakashi's thighs, which were spread wide as he knelt holding him. "Even things that weren't there?"

A smirk spread over Kakashi's face. He yanked Iruka's arm, so that he fell against him again, then thrust his hips forward so that the part in question dug into his stomach. "I hope it's not that easy to miss."

Iruka felt hot blood rising in his face. His fingers itched to strip his lover naked. Kakashi was hard from fighting, and from the way they were clinched together. He wanted to see him, touch him, taste him. He fought to control his neediness, blushing fiercely. This was crazy, thinking about sex at a time like this.

"But it didn't control _you_ Kakashi."

"No it didn't."

Kakashi thought back to his first encounter with red mist. The two missing nins, Aya and her husband back on the boarder of Cloud, with Naruto and Sakura. Had the Succubus been there too? He hadn't sensed her, but it _would_ explain why Naruto had messed up during the fight. But then why hadn't he? He wasn't egotistical enough to think it had anything to do with training, or power. There had to be a simple answer.

"You breath it in. It was the mask, the mist didn't go through my mask. That's why I was immune to it." He brushed back Iruka's tangled hair and kissed his forehead. "But she's dead now, we won't have to worry about that anymore. Come on, let's get away from here."

He pulled the smaller man to his feet then staggered and almost fell under the strain. "And when I carried you out of that castle I was afraid you'd lost weight."

Iruka caught him. "You are an idiot Kakashi, you've overdone it with the sharingan again haven't you?"

"Sorry, guess you're right. Are you ok?"

"Kakashi I was whipped, and yes it hurts. But I'm a shinobi, I think I can still carry your sorry arse back down that cliff."

They both collapsed in a heap.

"Or I would be able to, if someone hadn't just hit me hard enough to give me a concussion."

"You're still dizzy? Let me see." Kakashi used a gloved hand to tilt his head to the light and peered into his brown eyes. One glance was sufficient confirmation.

"Well if you hadn't fought like a tiger I wouldn't have had to hit you."

Iruka shot him a dirty look. "You should be glad I'm willing to fight for my honour." He grinned at the stunned look on the other man's face and kissed his cheek.

Kakashi looked back at him softly.

Iruka's heart melted, but he couldn't let such a mushy expression go without comment. "What?"

"That's the first time you've smiled since I found you. I'm glad you still can."

For the first time in weeks Iruka felt a glow of true happiness, blossoming somewhere deep inside. Kakashi had accepted everything that had happened, he'd analysed it, understood it, and had already dealt with it. His lover was ok. He pulled the copy nin unsteadily to his feet. "Damn jounins who don't know their own damn strength."

Kakashi wobbled and gripped him around the upper arm, trying to avoid his lacerated back. "Maybe I did hit you harder than I needed to. Sorry I was upset."

They staggered towards the break in the cliff supporting each other like two drunken sailors. "Enough apologies ok. You're just lucky that I love you."

Kakashi felt his heart flutter. "Yes I am."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The frail white haired man stabbed his skewer into a sweet dumpling, hitting it hard enough to make the plate rock on the low table. "Damn. The connection's gone, he's killed her. I told you he was good."

The younger man beside him watched through his long black hair, dark eyes showing a hint of amusement. "But he'll make an even better replacement, so maybe fate is on our side after all. It's not as if they can go anywhere, use blood."

"No chance." This time he ground his wooden skewer into the plate until it snapped. "Don't get me wrong, I'll do what I can but most jounins are too complex, the blood has to work on too many levels at once. Unless he accepts it willingly he'll destroy himself in no time, burn out his synapses fighting it."

"But if you're right about Hatake he'll be compatible, can't you use it as a graft, like you did on the girl?"

The old man sighed. "I wish I could, don't think I'm not drooling at the thought of what we could do with his power. Control's the problem. If he can master the blood limit, transform his own blood the way Yoko never could, we'd just be giving him another weapon to use against us." He pulled a face and pushed the plate away, as if suddenly sickened.

"You mean he'd have the power to create and control the mist without you."

"Exactly."

"And he _has_ overcome a blood limit before." The younger man picked up a dumpling with his fingers, pulled it in half and licked out its sweet bean filling. "So we have to get control of him first, like you did with Yoko. Everyone has a weakness."

Ketsuekimusha grinned. Slowly the grin turned into a leer. "Yes they do. And you know, _I _know his."

Dark eyes flashed back to him, showing instant comprehension. "Can you find them?"

"Of course, the island's still covered in my mist. There's so much blood here that it's easy, I'll be sorry to give it up." Picking up the broken skewer he speared another delicacy and popped it into his mouth whole. "Don't worry, I'll feel the surge in chakra as soon as one of them uses a jutsu. And they're Konoha nins, we won't have to wait for long."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

By the time the two Leaf shinobi were halfway down the cliff they could see that this wasn't going to be quite so easy.

"Fuck, the boat's gone. They already destroyed it or hid it. They really don't want you to leave do they."

Iruka sat down on the path, watching white fingers of foam splat against the rocks. "There's something going on Kakashi, they've been trying to get information about Konoha from me this whole time. We have to get home to warn the Hokage."

Kakashi sat next to him and considered. Red mist, threats to Konoha, there had to be a connection. "Mmm. Well there must _be_ boats. There are at least a dozen people here so they must bring in supplies on a regular basis. We'll circle around on the rocks, are you up for it?"

"No!" Iruka gave him his strictest teacher look. "Kakashi! You've already overdone it, you can barely stand upright. If you fall into the water I don't think I have the speed or the coordination right now to pull you out before you get smashed to pieces on these rocks. And don't even think of trying to use chakra. If you drain yourself anymore you'll be helpless for a week."

Kakashi pouted. He didn't like being wrong. "Ok I'll take it easy, and we should wait a little while for your head to clear, but not here, it isn't safe. We should go back up onto the island. It's too easy for us to get trapped if we're outnumbered."

Iruka looked at the daunting, almost vertical, path they'd just descended. He stood up quickly, hoping that Kakashi wouldn't guess how much it made his head throb. "Come on then, I'll help you climb."

Throwing caution to the wind they went straight back to the little ruined house.Normally they would have covered the distance in minutes, ittook nearly an hour. There was a small room at the back where the roof was almost intact and where leaves had collected in great drifts. Iruka lay his partner in the natural nest, then sat next to him. Thin autumn sunlight shone through a windowless opening and the breaks in the roof, brightening the interior to a dull gloom and scattering irregular patches of light all around. Kakashi shot out an arm, pulling the other man down to his level. He liked the smell of leaves, it reminded him of home. He liked the smell of Iruka too.

"I've got painkillers and bandages, I'll bind you up."

"Ok thanks. That should help." Iruka narrowed his eyes. "But keep that eye covered, if you want to know how it feels just ask me."

He dug into the other man's pack, swallowed a few of the pills he found there, then pulled out rolls of white gauze and took off his shirt. He didn't want Kakashi to see how much they'd hurt him, he knew he'd blame himself, feel that he'd failed to protect someone he cared for yet again. But they were professionals and he had no choice but to accept the help available. And they still had a mission to complete.

It took all Kakashi's famous control to keep the sharingan covered because the light was too dim to see well without it. But he didn't need his eye to smell the blood and the heat. Iruka's cuts were deep, and savage enough for the flesh to seem scorched. Whoever did this was no stranger to inflicting pain. He could smell something else too, antibiotic ointment.

"They treated this?"

Iruka shrugged. "They weren't done with me. They hadn't got what they wanted."

Kakashi applied more ointment then started to unwind the bandages around him. Touching as gently as he could, heartsick that he had no chakra to help heal or even to ease the pain properly.

"If they went to all this trouble to deceive you they won't give up until they've got what they want. They'll come for you. We've got to get off this island as soon as we can."

Kakashi pulled Iruka closer, inspecting his handiwork. His chest suddenly felt tight and chokedwith emotion.

"It's good to be this close to you again." He ran a finger along the line ofthe other'sjaw, then nibbled on his earlobe.

Iruka nudged him away. "Kakashi! If you're finished lie down and rest for goodness sake. If I have to I'll use a jutsu to knock you out. You don't have the strength to stop me."

He leaned back into the leaves obediently. "No I don't. Can you mask us both? And as you said, I don't have the chakra for it."

"Sure. It's not much of a challenge you've got nothing to mask. Go to sleep."

"Can't. I'm exhausted but too wired. I told you I've been thinking about you, don't you want to know what I've been thinking?" His visible eye was as deep and dark as the water at the bottom of a well.

Iruka gave in to a chuckle, then crawled onto him, feeling a hard erection dig into him for the second time that day. "You're impossible Hatake Kakashi. Has anyone ever told you that you're a horny bastard?"

Kakashi ran his hand over the increasing bulk at Iruka's crotch. "It's been a long time, too long. But you'll have to go on top. With those welts."

He felt Iruka roll off abruptly.

When the silence had stretched from tense to painful, Kakashi sat back up and took Iruka's hands in his. "What's wrong?"

"I… I suppose I've been on top too much recently." Iruka turned slightly, keeping his face shadowed.

"No kidding." He felt Iruka flinch, and mentally kicked himself.

Iruka felt the world spinning out of control, pulling him down to a place he thought he'd escaped from long ago. As if the secure foundations of his life were about to be ripped from under him again as they had when he was a child, by the kyuubi. When he was able to speak his voice was rough and shaky.

"It was you Kakashi, exactly you. I don't know if I'll be able to trust anyone ever again. I don't know if I can ever trust myself again."

"Iruka, come here." Kakashi guided him onto his lap, one leg on either side, and carefully rested his chin on his shoulder.Sucking in his heat and scent, and delighting in the tickles from the loose strands of silky hair against his face.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry. I admit I was hurt, but I know it wasn't your fault."

He hesitated, then went on. Iruka deserved to know this too. "I did doubt you for a little while, but it wasn't really you I doubted, it was me. I've never understood why someone as good as you would want someone like me. Please, don't let it come between us. Don't let _her_ come between us, I promise I don't love you any less."

Iroka's ear was so deliciously close that he couldn't resist letting the tip of his tongue explore its ridges and furrows. "Don't sweat it ok? I've gone this long, I can wait another day or two." He blew a puff of hot air and smirked at the little jump he got in response. "But as soon as I've got the strength I'm gonna fuck you senseless. I'm sure you haven't had _that_ in a while."

Suddenly a hand in the centre of his chest pushed him back into the leaves and he felt Iruka working at the buttons and zipper on his pants. Unleashed from its confines his hardness straightened to its full length. Familiar warm wetness engulfed it and he bucked, hard.

Strong hands pressed into his hips. "Keep still. Please. Just let me, I haven't done this in a while either."

Kakashi melted with pleasure. His desire flooding him with white fire as he focussed on the delectable sensation of his lover's lips and tongue, stroking, sucking, swallowing. It _had_ been a long time, much too long. And until now even he hadn't realised just how much he had needed this man's touch. Sex was sex, and it was always good, but this was love and it was something else entirely.

"Ruka, ah aah! So good."

Iruka smiled. He knew that he needed this even more than Kakashi. Right now _this_ was all that mattered, reaffirming their love for each other, the bedrock to his world. The danger threatening them, their duty to their home, those things could wait.

Kakashi felt the sharingan activate beneath his closed eyelid and headband and knew that he was powerless to reign it in. Spirals of white light filled his consciousness, found Iruka's wide open and wound around that too, linking them with a bond much stronger than either of them. As he let go abandoning all sense of self, he overflowed, barely aware of Iruka gagging, as his orgasm exploded through him.

Slowly the world came back into focus. "You ok?"

"Yeah, you nearly drowned me. But yeah, I'm fine. Feel better now?"

"I love you."

"Love you too. Now go to sleep."

Kakashi sighed and gave in to the black veil of exhaustion as it descended over him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tsunade's messenger hawk found team Gai ridiculously easily. The big man was just so… _visible_.

He read the tiny scroll he'd taken from the pouch tied to its foot and frowned. So Kakashi had left on a mission to wave country more than a week ago and hadn't returned. Even more disturbing, his mission had been to retrieve Iruka-sensei, who had left for Wave country two weeks before that and hadn't returned yet either.

Gai called his young teammates around him.

"My worthy rival and his beloved Iruka-sensei are lost in Wave country. It is for us, my dear young people, to find them and escort them home to the bosom of Konoha.

Tenten braced herself for the group hug.

"But what about _our_ mission Gai-sensei?" Lee asked, wide eyed.

Neiji silently mused that if his eyes opened any wider surely his eyeballs would fall out. He just hoped Lee wasn't standing in his blind spot when it happened.

"Ah dear Lee, a noble question. We will return to our current mission, just as soon as we have assured that our own comrades are safe."

As team Gai turned away from Cloud and headed towards Wave Country Maitai Gai felt a warm glow of satisfaction. This was the best kind of mission. One to aid and protect, to use his great strength as a shield for the village and the people he loved. To him Iruka-sensei represented the very heart of Konoha. Gai understood how the unconditional but uncompromising love the teacher had for its children provided them with an unshakable core of stability. An essential foundation for those destined to live as shadows. A ninjas life was one of deception, misdirection and deceit, and he had known far too many who had lost their humanity to their own deceptions.

His eternal rival had come perilously close to this fate. With the death of his father, his teammates and his sensei in such a short time, the brilliant but elusive young shinobi had almost vanished within the folds of his own many layers. That was why Gai had issued his first challenge, although he'd been widely ridiculed for it at the time. Kakashi was barely more than a child and, although Gai was only a few years older, he was already the tallest, fastest and strongest of his generation. Winning would bring him no glory and losing would earn him nothing but scorn. But it had worked. Because when he'd mockingly accepted the challenge, Kakashi had accepted a link to another human being. A bond that had gradually developed into their offhand friendship and, at the time, his only anchor.

Gai glanced back at the fine young people Iruka-sensei had trained for him. Chasing after missing Cloud nins wasn't something he'd wanted to do in the first place, even if they had disappeared on the way back from Konoha. But _this_ would be a worthy challenge, a chance for his team to prove themselves. Anything that was a serious enough threat to delay his rival must be a force to be reckoned with. And defeating it he would make him and his team stronger.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A.N. Regretfully I can't keep up with weekly updates right now. So I'll take advantage of the guys being in a happy, if precarious, place. I'll be back in two or three weeks, or when the A.P. Biology exam is over. Bye for now :) T.


	15. Chapter 15

Jaiyira swung open the door and walked into the Hokage's office. "Bit early in the day for that isn't it Baba?"

Tsunade refilled her teacup from the sake flask in the bottom draw of her desk and offered it to him. "It's about time I was early with something."

When he didn't take it she drained the cup herself. "I was late sending Kakashi out to Sand, late sending him after Iruka-sensei, late sending Gai after both of them."

She slammed her fist onto the desk, causing an avalanche in the towers of paper and scrolls piled on it. White sheets slid silently against each other, then fluttered to the floor, spilling around her like a pool of milk.

"By the time we find out what the hell is going on it will be too damn late for all of us. I'm failing Jijii, failing all of them. I'll just end up getting more of these poor kids killed. "

He moved behind her slowly, keeping in plain sight, and placed his hands at the back of her neck massaging gently. "What is it?"

She sighed, relaxing against him. "Got another message from that desert woman, Dakatsu. She said the pirates from Port Kaizoku have been seen in the desert again, making another delivery. Something heavy, it took six of them to carry it."

"You think it's a bomb?"

"That's what Kakashi thought before. Ordinary explosives don't have chakra, so if Orochimaru could get one into Konoha we'd have no way of finding where it was hidden, we'd be at his mercy."

"Orochimaru's mercy, now that's a rare commodity. Well we can't afford to ignore it, she's been reliable so far. Did she say anything else?"

"Not much, just asked if Kakashi got home safely. The brat's a charmer, I'll give him that."

"So you've noticed too."

Tsunade's eyes flashed danger. "Careful old man."

Jaiyira slid his hands over her shoulders, down her throat, and towards the beckoning expanse of pale cleavage. "It takes one to know one."

The back of her hand connected with his cheek, moments before he hit the far wall of the room. He suppressed a smile as he pulled himself up, working his jaw with one hand. That should have jolted her out of her funk. But pow! The old lady could still pack a punch. Part of him was almost relieved that he _hadn't_ reached her breasts.

"This is what I came in here for. To give you this back." Jaiyira smiled sheepishly and tossed a small scroll onto the piles of papers still littering her desk. "It's a chakra seal alright. Created by someone who knows what the hell he's doing. But I agree, it's definitely not the work of our old friend Orochimaru."

Tsunade looked at him very hard. "You're quite sure about that?"

"You know him as well as I do old girl. This is written in blood, he'd have burned it into the paper with poison, poison that transfers to skin at a touch. This seal will break the moment the paper's removed, I've made something similar myself."

"So it's a temporary seal?"

"Exactly. When did Orochimaru ever do anything that wasn't supposed to be permanent?"

She sighed. "You've got a point, the bastard plays for keeps. But what puzzles me is that if Kakashi's right, and someone _is_ building a ninja army, why seal them at all? Surely the whole point of having ninjas is for their ability to use chakra. Otherwise you're better off with well trained soldiers."

"Unless being temporary _is _the point. To suppress their power until they can controlled another way, maybe by some kind of brainwashing. And our snake friend doesn't need that. His poison curses give him all the control he needs."

She closed her eyes, letting the buzz from the sake wash over her brain. "So it isn't Sound. But now I almost wish it was."

Jaiyira raised his eyebrows in a question.

"We know him Jijii, know how to fight him. This is something completely new. Which makes it something much more dangerous."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As soon as he was sure that Kakashi was fully asleep, Iruka rifled through his pack for more painkillers. Then he settled down to watch over his sleeping lover. The back of his head really did hurt, and if Kakashi knew how much he'd have ordered him to sleep first. So did his back, but that had subsided to a dull ache now that it was properly bandaged. The fact that Kakashi had such total faith in his abilities, trusted him so completely, was worth any amount of fatigue. They were safe, Kakashi had rescued him, but right now it was up to him to guard and protect, he was the strong one. So he sat and watched, fine-tuned to the slightest hint of danger.

Iruka adjusted his legs into a meditation position and tried to relax. Maybe he'd been on this island so long that he'd reached the point where his nerves were permanently stretched thin, but he couldn't shake the feeling that _something_ was out there. As he waited through the hours of evening and into the night the feeling didn't change. There was nothing definite, certainly not an actual threat, and nothing that he really needed to be concerned about. But there was just the hint of a presence, all around. Maybe it was the cursed bloody island itself, and Yoko's blood, still lusting after him.

It was the darkest hour, between midnight and dawn, and their hiding place with its bed of leaves was as black as a tomb inside when he heard Kakashi stir.

"Iruka?"

"Right here. Need something?"

"Anything suspicious?"

"No not a peep."

"I'll take over, you should sleep now. You're exhausted too aren't you?"

Damn he was as perceptive as ever. Iruka knew he couldn't lie, but a half-truth might work. " I'll be ok. I passed out for quite a while after you… after she… Just get strong for both of us."

Kakashi felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him. It was his fault that that Iruka had been whipped. And savagely enough for him to pass out from the pain. Shinobi didn't pass out from pain easily.

"They aren't looking for you yet, if they were we'd know by now. They think they have us trapped." He rolled to his side and stretched out an arm. "Come here and sleep with me."

Iruka released the tension in his body with a long sigh. "You know that's the very best offer I've had in a long time."

He rested his head against Kakshi's chest and stretched to kiss his neck, just above the rumpled mask.

"We fit together well like this. Usually you're lying on me.'

"Mmm really, I didn't know we had a 'usual' position."

Iruka snorted softly. "Of course we do. You like to snuggle into my throat. It always seems weird because you're taller than me and your waist is narrower. Your arm must go dead tucked underneath me but I've got lots of space, and your hair gets in my face and makes me sneeze. This is better."

"Perhaps you're right, this is better. A more natural fit."

They lay in silence, in the silent night. Outside no leaves rustled and no insects chirped. The hum of summer had given way to the brittle quiet of the approaching winter. Kakashi looped his arms loosely around Iruka's neck.

It prompted him to wriggle a little closer. "As soon as I can lie flat you're going to go right back to sleeping sprawled all over me as usual, aren't you?"

Kakashi's lips twitched, unseen in the darkness. "You bet."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Team Gai had run through the night and arrived at the border with Mist with the first rays of daylight. They sat on the twisted roots of a leafless tree, eating ration bars and catching a few minutes of much needed rest.

"Gai-sensei?"

"Yes Lee."

"I've been thinking, Wave country is pretty big. How do you plan to find Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei?"

"An excellent and intelligent question Lee. They were headed for Wolf Island. We'll start there then follow whatever leads we can find. If necessary we will search every inch of foreign soil until we have brought our comrades safely home."

As he was speaking a man approached through the mist, which was stained red by the early morning light. Gai beamed and struck a pose.

"Iruka-sensei! There you are. And we were just saying we might have to search the length and breadth of Wave Country for you." A stray sunbeam glanced off his smile. "Is my worthy rival here too?"

Lee looked at the large red haired man wearing an unmarked headband. Was Iruka-sensei working undercover? He slid along the root to Tenten.

"Is that really Iruka-sensei?"

"I… I don't think so." She hastily formed the seals for dispel. "I don't think it's a henge. It kind of looks like him, but Iruka-sensei never made me feel all creeped out like this."

Lee's eyes opened wide. Kind of looked like him? Was he missing something? But he had to agree about the creepiness.

"It's not." Neji confirmed arriving silently from behind. "There are two chakras there, and neither of them's Iruka-sensei's." He shivered and clutched at his stomach as if sickened.

Tenten grabbed his arm. "What is it Neji? Tell us, what can you see?"

Neji looked at the dark chakra tendrils snaking inside the mystery nin's veins, spreading throughout his body, through his blood, and pouring into a cloud that threatened to swallow them all.

"That man has powerful chakra, he's chuunin at least, but there's something evil inside him, controlling him."

"Is he a demon vessel, a jinchuuriki, like Naruto and Gaara?"

Neji shook his head slowly. "No. It's not demon chakra, it's human, but dark, foul. Just looking at it makes me feel…"

Without warning he lunged at the unknown ninja, aiming for his chakra points. "Get away from Gai-sensei, leave him alone you sick creep!"

Lee was with him just as fast, a roundhouse kick aimed at the man's head. Gai grabbed them both just as Lee connected and the man staggered back out of Neji's reach.

"That's not Iruka-sensei!" Neji screamed as Gai held him by the back of his shirt. "Don't trust him, it's some kind of trick!"

Tenten looked at the three of them, holding two kunai in one hand and six shuriken in the other, frozen by indecision.

"Of course it is. Do you think I don't know my eternal rival's most precious person."

Gai deposited his young teammates in two low branches of the tree. "Now wait here and rest while I go with him to get Kakashi-sensei. We have a long way to go back to Konoha and don't forget we still have a mission to finish after that." With a flash of teeth and a striking pose, he was gone.

"What happened?" Tenten asked, as she put her weapons away.

The two teens slid out of the tree to land one on either side of her.

"The evil was getting into Gai-sensei, through his lungs. I could see it."

Lee drooped like a rag doll. "And I ruined your chance of sealing it. I'm sorry."

Neji shook his head again. "It wasn't coming out of his chakra points. Up close I could see that the mist was coming from a cut on the back of his hand. It was blood."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A ray of light shining through the small window opening woke Iruka soon after dawn. He lay quietly on his stomach, with his arm stretched across Kakashi's chest and his face buried in his shirt. Just drinking in the pleasure of being close to him. It was as if they'd never been apart and as if he'd been away for a hundred years.

He lay completely still, aware of the sunbeams shining through the broken roof, as the light angled steadily steeper. Feeling the slight breeze of Kakashi's breath over his hair. Listening to the regular beat of his heart, the faint gurgles from within his body, and the steady ebb and flow of his breathing. Kakashi would wake at the slightest movement, and although he could tell that his chakra had recouped significantly, for him it was still pitifully weak. So he let him sleep, determined that _he_ wouldn't be the one to pull him back to whatever danger they still faced.

This was reality. From where he was now, he could tell that Yoko's deception had been just that. A perfect three dimensional fake, like a clone of everything he thought Kakashi _should_ be. A clone that he might have created, just to keep himself company. The man pressed against him, still smelling of sweat, blood and grime from his battle, had dimensions he couldn't imagine, that he could barely even sense. He was the ultimate ninja, a shadow, and that was a reality far beyond anyone's imagination.

It was late morning by the time Kakashi finally woke. Iruka was dozing lightly and opened his eyes to see blue and red gazing at him with so much lustful affection that he felt embarrassed. Blood rose to his cheeks but before he had a chance to speak he'd been rolled over and Kakashi's hands and lips were all over him. He cried out at the sudden pressure on his back. Kakashi startled and pulled up his mask as a reflex. He sat up and watched Iruka roll back to his stomach, his face twisted in pain.

"Ruka, I hurt you? What happened? When did you get dressed?"

"I… I never got undressed Kakashi. Were you dreaming?"

Kakashi felt for the edge of his mask, trying to reconcile the naked breathless lover he'd just had in his arms with the fully dressed, heavily bandaged man in front of him. "The mist, it's still here. It didn't die with that woman."

He pulled Iruka's shirt over his mouth and nose. "Cover your face before it gets to you too."

Iruka sat up and hacked off a length of his leg binding with a kunai to make a more permanent mask.

"You're sure? You think someone else is controlling it?"

Kakashu considered his loss of control, the disturbing feeling of not quite reality. Just how many threads led back to the woman Aya? The bloated corpses and the stench of death he'd left in the dark belly of that cave?

"Oh yes. This happened before, when I was in Cloud Country with the kids. It felt exactly the same. And there was red mist there too."

"What! With the kids! Kakashi, you didn't _do_ anything did you? To Naruto or Sakura?"

Kakashi looked at the visible part of Iruka's face, getting redder by the second until it was verging on purple, and collapsed spluttering with laughter.

"God no! What me with Sakura… or _Naruto_?" He sucked in a deep lungful of air, choking to keep the laughter inside.

Suddenly his voice became deadly serious. "But I suppose I might have, if they'd been under my blanket with me, like you did with that woman." He shook his head. "No, I knew it was a dream as soon as I woke up. Or as soon as I pulled up the mask more likely."

"This mist is completely evil."

"Yes but interesting. It seems to work on different levels. It can be controlled directly to make you see and feel particular things, or it weakens your own control so that you see what want to see, or expect to see. Makes you make mistakes."

"Kakashi, do you have to analyse everything? Can't we just call it evil and get out of here?"

"You bet. We're leaving here today, now."

Kakashi started piecing together what he knew. The big picture was there somewhere, buried within the fragments. His team had been hunting the missing Cloud nins because they'd broken into the mission room. And with them they'd found red mist. Red mist and this elaborate charade had been used to ensnare Iruka. Where was the connection?

"On the mission, to come here, you were supposed to be a tutor. So what did you teach that woman?"

Iruka turned from pulling dry leaves out of his uniform. "Nothing. I was her escort. They just wanted someone who could pass as a tutor, you know, to make the disguise more convincing."

Kakashi shook his head. "Any Konoha nin can do a henge that's one hundred percent convincing. You wouldn't let them graduate if they couldn't." He paused, letting his mind find its own way to the answer. "They wanted one of our teachers."

"A teacher! Whatever for? To show them how to throw their shuriken straight?"

The connection was almost there. Kakashi could feel it coming together in his brain. "You work in the mission room too don't you?"

"Well, duh…_yes!_"

It was strange seeing those expressive brown eyes above a mask, disconnected from the rest of the emotions on Iruka's face.

"I _have _been handing you missions across that desk and complaining about your crappy reports for the past five or six years now"

Was it really that long since he'd first become aware of those eyes? "Bitching about them you mean. You don't just complain about my reports, you bitch about them. Just because they're a little late sometimes… What about the other academy senseis, do they take shifts in the mission room too."

Iruka thought for a moment. "Most of them. It works out well that way because the mission room is busiest after school has finished. That's when everyone is getting back home and picking up missions for the following day. And it keeps us in touch, and gives us a chance to talk to someone over the age of twelve. Maybe even make some new friends." He paused as his eyes softened. "Or more than friends, by helping someone to sneak in a particularly late report perhaps."

Kakashi felt his cheeks prickle and fought back the urge to kiss him. Now if _he_ was planning an attack on Konoha, taking out the mission room would be a good start. Tsunade's office was right there, and the ANBU meeting room, and it always seemed that half the top jounins were hanging around. But timing would be critical. If say, _a bomb_, was to go off at the _wrong_ time, it was just as likely to destroy a nearly empty building.

He stole a glance at his sweet lover. The most modest, competent, efficient man he knew. Iruka knew exactly when the mission room was busiest and he probably set up most of the schedules for the ANBU and jounin meetings too. And the mission request that had brought him here had practically asked for him by name.

"I'll get you off this island if I have to run over the ocean carrying you."

Iruka nuzzled his cheek and stroked his fluffy hair. "But you can't, you don't have enough chakra, not yet." The teacher's stomach chose that moment to growl, loudly.

It made Kakashi jump. "Poor Ruka, I'm making wild reckless plans and letting you starve. Did you eat anything at all yesterday?"

He rifled through his pack and produced a small cloth bundle. Inside were two little cakes, wrapped in wax paper. "Have some breakfast, or is it lunch. I've been saving these for you, and I have chocolate as well, and standard rations if you're desperate enough." He pulled out a flask, "and try this, it will perk you up. Better than coffee."

Iruka eased down his mask and bit into one of the cakes. "This is really good. Where did you get it? Do you think we could get these instead of those horrible bars?"

Kakashi watched him eat. Hell, he'd have watched him do anything. His eyes had been starved of Iruka for weeks and they needed a good feed too. He sighed happily, taking far too much pleasure in studying the way the pink tip of the teacher's tongue chased around his lips for errant crumbs.

"Hurry up and finish. I don't want you breathing in this stuff."

Iruka shot him a sneaky look. "Yes Dad."

Kakashi was on him in an instant, his own mask down, savouring the taste of honey, almonds and Iruka in that delicious mouth. "Fathers don't think the things I'm thinking about you."

"No, perverts do."

"And you love it."

"Well… I love you."

"Close enough."

Kakashi let him finish unmolested, whilst fighting to suppress his growing anxiety. His instincts were screaming at him to go outside, to get away, but could he trust them? Especially after breathing that mist all night? He hated this island.


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto dug into his fourth bowl and stole a glance at Tsunami-san across her large wooden table. She _was_ just a bit too old for him to seriously consider marrying, but boy, could she ever make ramen. A wide grin lifted the whisker marks on his face. When he was Hokage he would hire her as his personal cook.

Sakura set down her chopsticks and folded her hands on her lap. "That was really really good Tazuna-san. You should open your own restaurant."

The woman flicked her dark hair away from her face and laughed. "I do quite enough cooking already, with Inari and half his fishermen friends here almost every day. It's unfortunate they had to go before you got here, but he'll be back this evening."

Naruto sipped at his soup as politely as he could, it really was delicious, and wiped his lips on the back of his hand. "So you're pretty sure Kakashi-sensei left already."

The woman was still smiling, but more thoughtfully. "Well not completely sure, I didn't see him myself, but the boat Hirame-san lent him was returned sometime this morning, it was already there when Imari left. I can only assume that Kakashi-san must have been in a hurry, he doesn't seem the type to miss out on a free meal."

Naruto choked and snorted as broth ran down his nose. "You're right about that, the greedy bastard eats more than I do."

"Naruto! Don't talk about Kakashi-sensei like that." Sakura scolded. Then her eyes widened. "Hey, you don't think Iruka-sensei was hurt do you? And that's why they had to leave so fast."

Tsunami shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-san didn't tell me anything about his mission. All I know is that he was very weak when he was brought here and very sad when he left a few days later. I had the impression that he must have gone through a terrible ordeal"

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a concerned glance. Weak and sad were _not_ words they associated with their sensei.

The youth slapped the palms of his hands on the table. "Come on Sakura-chan, let's go and check out that island right now."

"No!" Sakura looked up to meet his bright eager eyes. "Look I want to find out what's going on just as much as you do, but we just completed a mission. We have to go back and file our report."

Naruto's jaw dropped open. "What? We walked with the old guy to the Capital, then we walked with him back here. You want us to abandon Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei so that Hokage-sama can know _that_?"

"Of course not you idiot, but it's Kakashi-sensei's mission, not ours. We can't just barge in and interfere. Anyway, Wolf Island is the one place we're pretty sure Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei _aren't_ right now. But they only have half a day's start on us, if we hurry to get this report in, there's a good chance we'll catch up to them."

Understanding slowly registered on Naruto's face. "You're right Sakura-chan, we wouldn't be interfering just extra punctual, that's brilliant."

"Yeah well, that's why I'm a chuunin and you aren't."

Naruto's cheeks flushed pink so that the whisker marks stood out as stark lines. "Hey that's just a technicality and you know it."

"Technicality or not I'm still in charge. So wash those dishes for Tsunami-san and let's get going. Tazuna-san, tell Imari that we're really sorry…"

The woman stroked Sakura's hair, just when did the girl get to be so pretty? Then she set to work packing up a lunch of rice cakes and fish in a checkered cloth for them.

"That's ok, he'll understand. I'll invite you back really soon, when my father's here too. And I'll be sure to cook something very special."

The air was cool and dry and the ground covered in leaves that crushed with a whisper under even the lightest tread. Maybe that's why they'd gone less than a mile when Sakura noticed the first group of ninjas. By the time they were halfway to the bridge she was starting to feel that something was definitely up.

"Hey Naruto, what do you think all these shinobi are here for?"

"Eh? Shinobi?"

"Yes you must have seen them. There were three down in the village, we just passed another two on the road and there are more in the trees right ahead of us."

"Really? Say you're right, there is someone up in those trees."

He raced ahead and leapt into the spreading tree, landing near a woman with wrappings around her forehead and torso. He felt a flare of hot red chakra from within his body. The kyuubi? It was almost as if he'd felt it snarl. Why was the fox stirring now? The only other times it had done that on its own was when he'd been in mortal danger.

In an instant the woman was on the branch next to him. She traced her finger around the leaf mark on his headband, looked at him carefully, then leapt away. Vanishing into the mangrove swamp.

"Well that was really stupid, even for you." Sakura commented, once he'd rejoined her. "So what did she say?"

Naruto wrinkled his brow. "Dunno, she didn't say anything. But you know what was really weird? She seemed sorta dressed like a Sand ninja, but there was no mark on her headband."

Sakura sucked in a sharp breath. "You… you mean that was a missing nin?"

"Maybe… but from I've been told they usually polish off their village mark or scratch it out. This was just plain blank, as if there was never anything there in the first place. And there was something really creepy about her too."

Headbands without village marks. Why was that familiar? "Naruto, I'm worried. I hope we catch up to Kakashi-sensei soon."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka followed Kakashi out of the ruined house, rubbing his eyes against the bright sun.

"You know this place looks different. When I first arrived here it was green, almost as green as Konoha. Now it seems grey."

"They wanted you to think it was pretty, so you did."

"You mean the mist…"

"You can't trust anything here to be what it seems." Without missing a beat Kakashi slipped into stealth, signaling for Iruka to do the same.

They had the man hog tied on the ground before he knew what hit him. Kakashi rolled him over, then roared with laughter.

"Sampo-kun?'

The monk looked at them, spluttering in terror.

Kakashi tossed a kunai to Iruka as he put a hand over their prisoner's nose and mouth. "Cut off part of his robe, cover his face."

Within a few moments of being masked he'd stopped struggling. "Umino-san? Kakashi? Where did you come from, what happened to the wolves. They were just about to tear me apart."

Kakashi helped the monk to sit, then crouched and rubbed his bald head with a gloved palm, as if he was polishing it. "No, that would have been us. As I was just saying, nothing here is what it seems. But what the hell are you doing here Sam?"

He massaged his wrists pulling a face at the red lines left by the too efficient ninja bonds. Kakashi always had been good with ropes "Umino-san, you were the one who said there were still Ookami's on Wolf Island. I came to see for myself."

His blue eye flashed open as Kakashi grabbed his old friend's shoulder. "Just a minute, how did you get here? Do you have a boat?"

"Er, yes. I left it tied up by the cliff at the end of the path."

"Come on we're getting off this damned rock. Now!"

The monk pulled himself away. "Hold on a minute." He looked from one deadly ninja to the other, and swallowed hard, not easy people to disappoint. "You can't expect me to leave now. I've been travelling for more than a week, I only just got here."

His hopeful look met Kakashi's and he didn't need to see the rest of his face to know how fiercely determined the other man's expression must be.

"There's something bad here Sam, really bad. You thought we were wolves just now, who knows what you might see, or think you see, up there." Kakashi indicated the outline of Ookami castle, where its tumble of hard shapes stood out from the weathered profile of the hills.

Seeing the abbot from the Shinto shrine again had been quite a shock for Iruka. Try as he might, he couldn't help flashing back to his last 'encounter' with the man. There was just as much tension in the air now. But this time it was much more aggressive, he could almost taste the testosterone, and he could still feel an undertone of sex, although now it was strictly between the other two men. With his help Kakashi had taken down the monk easily, but they'd caught him by surprise. If he put up a fight it would cost them and the copy nin was far from recovered from his last battle.

Obviously there was some history here. He wondered what complications that might create.

Iruka took a half-gloved hand in his and gently intertwined their fingers. "But it is _his_ boat Kakashi. Perhaps we should go with him, we ought to try to find out what's going on in any case."

"No!" Kakashi clenched his fist, gripping Iruka tightly. "After what they did to you? I'm not letting you get near that place."

Sampo smiled serenely, calming the atmosphere by several degrees. "Kaka-kun, I'm a monk, no one's going to do anything bad to me. And you know that I can take care of myself pretty well. Just give me 'till sundown. If I'm not back by then go without me. You can ask someone from the mainland to bring the boat back and I'll just wait."

Kakashi's lips tightened, forming a hard line under his mask. "You have no idea what you might be getting into, but you're an adult, and I have no right to tell you what you can and can't do." He drew in a deep breath then let it out, as if steeling himself. "But keep that mask on, it will protect you. And an hour before sunset, I don't want to risk those rocks in the dark. We won't wait."

"Sampo winked. "Glad I won't have to fight you over it. And I'm glad you found your chuunin."

They watched the abbot hurry along the path towards the hills. His large dark figure getting gradually smaller, moving surprisingly fast and with surprising grace for someone of his bulk.

Iruka reached for Kakashi's other hand. "_Your_ chuunin?"

The remaining tension vanished as a blue eye arched into a smile. "That's what _you_ told him."

Iruka reached up, brushing their lips together mask to mask, eyes twinkling. "So, _my_ jounin, what shall we do for the next four hours?"

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Tsunade sat staring into her teacup, seemingly focussed on the tealeaves that had settled into a dark cluster beneath the pale liquid. And oblivious to the fact that coils of steam had stopped rising from it long ago. Tea definitely wasn't what she wanted to drink right now. Without raising her head she barked an order to the dark haired woman hovering like a ghost nearby.

"Shit, I'm done with sitting around waiting. Send out a memo to all the mission room staff, we're going on a first stage emergency alert, no new missions are to be accepted or given out unless I've tagged them as vital to our defense. And step up the training of the new genins too, we may need to use all the resources we have."

Shizune was as quiet and as calm as ever, only a slight stiffening of her spine betraying her true feelings. "Do you really think things are that serious?"

Tsunade glared at her tea as if it was a hated enemy. "I don't know. Dammit I just don't know. But I'd sooner piss off a few cranky clients than risk having half our people out in the field when we need them most."

Her assistant took out a calculator and started tapping on its keys. "If we limited missions to C rank and below we'd be able to keep almost half of our income stream. And we could keep everyone in radio range at all times."

"And if we get caught off guard again we might not have _any_ income stream. Not even enough to pay a mason to carve all the new names on the monument."

Shizune pocketed her calculator but didn't move away.

After a long minute had passed Tsunade looked up at her. "Go on, spit it out. Tell me why I'm wrong."

"Well sometimes its wiser to hedge your bets. Having everyone in the village has risks too, especially if the jounins are left with nothing to do for too long. Without any obvious threat to prepare for that is"

The older woman sighed. "You mean at least if they're out on missions they'll be armed and ready. But if they get bored they'll start injuring each other in stupid contests and getting drunk."

Shizune's eyelashes fluttered down. "Something like that Hokage-sama."

"Alright, you win. Assign jounins to all the C and D ranked missions, they'll hate it and they'll hate me, but it will keep them busy. The feistier chuunins too. And make sure they understand they could get called back at any time."

With her decision made Tsunade risked a tiny smile. "Go ahead and send Tonton to stay with your cousins outside the village too, the fewer lives at risk the better. And ask Jiraiya to see me, I think I'd like the old Horny Toad to do some snooping."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No Kakashi, you _can't_ put that in there."

"Why not?"

Because that's my territory already, see these are my stones."

"Not all of them. These two are mine, see they're dark grey."

Iruka picked up a pebble and looked at it closely, then set it back on the grid of squares scored into the dirt. "Are you sure?"

Kakashi sighed. "Of course, look the dark ones have more black speckles."

Iruka sighed louder. "This is useless. How can we play go if I can't tell the dark grey stones from the slightly less dark grey ones."

"You should have let me use a jutsu to make yours white, I know half a dozen that would do it, then you'd be able to see the difference."

"No Kakashi! You're not wasting your chakra on a stupid game." Iruka took a handful of pebbles and tossed them in the palm of his hand. "I don't know why I'm playing go with you in the first place. It's not as if I can win."

Kakashi grabbed him and pulled him down, face to face as he collapsed onto the ground, scattering the stones. "You've beaten me before, twice."

The man on top chuckled. "Yes twice, in how many years?"

He felt a rumble like a low growl come from beneath him. "We could go back to my original idea for passing the time."

Iruka's pulse throbbed, his lips were burning with the need to kiss. "Aah Kakashi, it's not that I don't want to." He ran his fingers over the familiar masked face. " I do, I really do. It's just…" Brown eyes flickered across the horizon, through the ever present layer of thin mist. "I feel… I just feel as if we're being watched."

The blue eye closed into an arc. "Then we'll have to make sure we put on a good show."

With a puff of smoke Iruka was standing, looking down at the man sprawled at his feet. He couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. "You damn pervert."

Kakashi pouted, missing the weight of the other's body. Then, without warning he sprang to his feet, but not playfully. He was tight hard muscle, a coiled spring shot through with energy, like a cat ready to pounce. He'd seen something, half obscured by mist.

At first he thought it was his own reflection, some kind of optical illusion. But the hair was too long and wispy, and it wasn't wearing a mask or a headband. Even when it was close enough to see clearly there was no trace of chakra to betray the man's presence and his simple dark clothes had no identifying features, but Kakashi knew who it was.

The white haired apparition spoke. "So here you are, found you at last. I knew one of you would use a jutsu eventually. I caught a hint of chakra yesterday, but not quite enough to home in on." His burning eyes shone through the mist. "Defeating Yoko took a lot out of you didn't it?"

Kakashi moved closer still. Now he could see that the man was old, ancient. "Ookami-sama?"

"As a matter of fact I am, but I might say the same of you."

Kakashi's eye narrowed with suspicion. I'm an Hatake, not an Ookami. My family were farmers, not nobles."

The man maintained his unnerving stare. "Really? We're both wolves. How much do you know of your family history Hatake-san, before they came to Konoha? This silver hair didn't come with age. I've always had it. You see Hatake, you and I are distantly related. You probably have as much right to claim Wolf Island as I do. In fact all the white haired clans in all the five countries are related by blood if you go back far enough. All of us brilliant, but… flawed."

The air prickled between them as Kakashi looked him over. The man had stopped hiding his power. It was the kind of power he knew from Tsunade, Jiraiya and… he realised uncomfortably, Orochimaru.

"You're the sennin!"

The old man lowered his head and his eyes in a mocking approximation to a bow. "I'm here to make you an offer Hatake-san. Will you join my pack?" His lips curled into something between a grin and a sneer. "Or are you content to wear a collar and leash and call yourself a dog?"

Kakashi let his body seem to slacken into his lazy slouch, his mind whirring with frenzied concentration. All the white haired clans? Kimimaru and Kabuto of Sound? They were brilliant enough and flawed enough for anyone. Who else? Jairiya? Hate though he did to admit it the description was pretty close, that's why the white haired sennin had turned down the position of Hokage in favour of Tsunade. And of course there was his father…

He kept his eye level as he tapped the Konoha mark on his headband. "If loyalty is the mark of a dog then I'll be a dog."

The sennin stepped closer, so that their auras touched. "No, you're no dog Hatake. Obedience doesn't come naturally to you, I can see the defiance through that mask. Is that why you wear it, to disguise yourself as something you'll never be? Is that _your_ flaw?"

The copy nin's expression didn't change. "No one's perfect. Everyone has weaknesses, but the strongest will overcome them."

"Yes everyone has weaknesses. Let's test the loyalty you claim to your village against a more… basic loyalty. Maybe then you'll choose to throw off the leash… and become a true wolf."

He threw back his head and howled. The mist in the air picked up the vibration, red, heavy, saturated with danger.

Kakashi darted in front of Iruka.

The sennin's white hair deformed, and a second head bulged above his. A wolf's head.

Kakashi molded chakra in the palm of his hand.

The wolf leapt out from the sennin's body, bounding high into the air. Followed by another, then another, until in less than a minute a dozen were circled around the three men.

The chakra in Kakashi's hands crackled. "Iruka, keep down. Let me handle this."

The wolves lowered their heads, snarling and slathering blood. Two leapt at Kakashi from opposite sides, lightening zigzagged towards them and they shattered into clouds of red mist. The mist solidified into six new wolves.

So chakra was no defense, they absorbed it and used it to multiply. Kakashi drew his sword and pulled Iruka in close. He slashed at the closest animal, slicing off its head. It melted into a puddle of red. Good, that worked.

All the wolves attacked at once.

He nudged up his headband as they ran towards him, weaving in a confusing tangle of white. Yellow bloodshot eyes and yellow fangs trailing blood, tails held stiff and straight, powerful legs pushing powerful bodies, each one a lethal weapon. They were fast but he was faster, a blur of motion, spinning between them, cutting, slashing, stabbing.

The remaining wolves regrouped for a slit second. Six were closing in on Iruka, but the teacher was ready for them too. One fell back, its skull split with a shuriken, a second collapsed with a kunai in its throat. Kakashi dispatched the two still within his reach, then turned to help.

Aided by the sharingan he could predict their movements, but Iruka could not. Kakashi stabbed through the chest of one and while Iruka was hurling Kunai at another the last two circled around. Iruka stepped back to aim at the closest, and into the strike zone of the other. Kakashi was there in an instant and severed its spine, but not before it had sunk its teeth into Iruka's leg.

They stood panting, surrounded by mist and gore. There was no sign of the old man.

"Here, let me see that." Kakashi used a kunai to slit open Iruka's pants.

As they watched the torn flesh knitted together and the punctures healed, within minutes the damage had disappeared.

"That's not a natural wound, I don't like it. And those wolves were drooling blood."

A voice reached them through the mist. "The blood of wolves, this island is soaked in it. It's rich. Rich and potent."

It cleared enough to reveal the sennin eating dumplings from a stick. "Excuse me, but a good fight always gives me an appetite. And it was a good fight wasn't it? Of course I knew I couldn't take you, I'm too old now. But I got what I came for."

He looked Iruka up and down with cool detachment, then a lecherous smirk spread over his thin lips.

"Passionate isn't he, I can feel it already. Yoko was my tool, so I already know what it feels like to have him in me. It feels just as good to be in him, but then you know that too don't you?" He looked over to the copy nin, who was glowering with icy hatred. "His blood is my blood now. You have two choices Hatake, let me take him, or join me and keep him yourself. It's up to you."

"Go to hell old man."

"When the time comes, but I'll have good bargaining power. Think about it for a while."

The sennin vanished in a cloud of red.

Iruka was trembling as if he was cold. He took Kakashi's hand. "What do you think that means?"

"It means we have to get you home, as soon as possible. We have sennins in Konoha too. Jiraiya and Tsunade will know what to do. But first we have to get away from here."

A deep calm voice reached them through the mist, startling them both. "Kakashi, what's been going on here?" The abbot looked down at the puddles of red around his sandals. "I thought it was the castle that was supposed to be dangerous. What is it with you ninjas and blood?"

"Sam!" Kakashi was at his side in an instant. "I'm glad you made it. We're going back to Konoha now. I'd like you to come with us if you can, we might need some help. But of course that's up to you."

"What? The great Sharingan Hatake asking for help from a humble monk?" He caught the look in the other man's eye and the desperate confusion in Iruka's, and lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. "Of course, I'll do anything for you, you know that."

Kakashi stretched an arm as far as it would go across his broad shoulders. "Thanks Sam, it means a lot. Now let's get off this damn island before anything else bad happens."

Despite his size the monk could run almost as fast as the two shinobi, so a short time later Kakashi was steering them away from the black granite cliffs. The boat was small, too small for all of them, and Iruka was almost sitting on Sampo's lap. He just hoped the monk wasn't enjoying it. But from the way Kakashi's exposed eye was alternating between amusement and jealousy, he was almost completely sure that he was.

Two men watched them from the top of the cliff. The younger one's starry robe billowed behind him and he brushed his windswept hair away from his face.

"So you got him?"

"Of course. But for now we should let them run, give the blood time to ripen. I can reel him in easily enough when I want to." He shook his white head and went back to eating the dumplings from his stick. "Not easy to let go, not easy at all, I can understand why Yoko risked everything trying to keep him."


	17. Chapter 17

As they pulled away, Iruka peeled off his mask and took a deep breath of fresh ocean air. From the movement behind him he assumed the abbot was doing the same. Kakashi lowered his mask too, grinning self-consciously.

"What? …Nothing you two haven't seen before."

Ookami Island retreated behind them, looking more and more like any other part of the rocky archipelago.

Sampo sighed with satisfaction and regret. The ancestral home of the Ookami's and, he'd discovered, the tomb of the Wolf Mother. He sat straighter, feeling the heat and nervous tension in the chuunin wedged against him. Kakashi's chuunin. The man Kakashi had chosen, over him. He inhaled the spicy odour of the copy nin's sweat from the bare skin of the teacher's neck. Well, his old friend obviously hadn't wasted any time in marking up his territory.

"You know Kakashi-kun, if you two are in danger, under attack, I don't think we should go back through Wave. There were ninjas there when I left."

That was an interesting development. "Ninjas? Really, where were they from?"

The monk laughed uneasily. "How would I know? You don't think I actually saw any do you? If I hadn't grown up in Konoha I wouldn't have noticed them at all."

Kakashi looked back at the white line of foam spun in the water by the outboard, watching it spread and dissipate into the random patches of foam already gathered around the rocks. So they were waiting for them at the fishing village, probably at other nearby ports too.

He scanned the open expanse of ocean ahead, and something caught his eye. "Then how do you two feel about a sea cruise? We'll go home through Cloud Country, it's not much further."

Iruka could barely suppress a squawk. His position pressed against the large monk… the large monk who just a short time ago had made it _very _clear that he'd like to fuck him into next week, was making him increasingly uncomfortable. Maybe it was just paranoia, but he was almost completely sure that there was something hard nudging into his waist at the back.

"Kakashi! We can't make it all the way to Cloud like this, er, _in_ this. This er, boat, it's overloaded with three of us as it is, we'll be lucky to get as far as the mainland."

"Won't have to." Kakashi pointed out a grey shape in the mid-distance. "See you on board." He tugged his mask back into position and disappeared.

Iruka lunged for the rudder, relieved to be away from the abbot, but nervous too. They were ninjas, not pirates, and he for one knew nothing about seizing a ship. And that shape hadn't been a fishing boat or a trading vessel, it was lean and sleek, like a naval gunship or something the coastguard of a wealthy nation might use against smugglers and… pirates. Just how did Kakashi plan to pull this off?

The copy nin was already in action. He sensed fourteen people on board The Mermaid, and as expected, he recognised one of them. As luck would have it Kamo was alone on the deck, presumably keeping look out. Except the only thing he was looking at was his comic books.

"Hey she's pretty cute, but too many clothes. This one's better." Kakashi flipped Icha Icha open to a full-page illustration in front of him.

"Wow you're right, she's hot, woohoo. But I don't like that kind of book, it has too many words. I just like to look at the pic…" The word died in his scaly throat as he noticed who was sharing with him.

As his mouth gaped open, the cigarette rolled out, and fell onto the book. Kakashi flicked it off casually, then ground it under his toe. Giving torturous meaning to even _that_ tiny movement.

Kamo's mouth was still hanging open, but with his lips drawn back, revealing nicotine stained teeth. "You! Fucking hell. How the fucking hell did you get here? Have you any idea how much shit you dumped me in?"

The copy nin's eye curved into a smile. Faster than the eye could follow, he picked up the flattened cigarette and pressed the hot tip into the palm of the other man's hand. "Didn't your Momma warn you that if you played with fire you'd get… burned?"

Kamo flinched and flicked his hand, then stared at the red blister starting to form at its centre. He backed up to the rail, leaning against the shiny brushed-steel, and glanced over, as if weighing the odds of facing off with the ninja against jumping and swimming for it.

"So what the hell do you want with me?"

Kakashi moved close and put one arm around him, whilst using the other to locate his weapons and toss them into the ocean. "Mmm I don't know, how about… take me to your leader?"

That was all? But then if the one eyed freak had come to kill him he wouldn't be breathing now. "Well sure… I guess. But I'll warn you he's still pretty mad."

The blue eye narrowed to a menacing slit. "Ah how sweet that you're concerned about my safety. So maybe I won't throw you overboard. This time."

Kakashi knew who the white haired man must be the moment he saw him. But he was older than he had expected. At least forty, even allowing for the aging effects of a life in the sun and the salt air. He was big too, strong and muscular like a powerful stallion in its prime.

The 'Boss' heard the grunt of introduction as Kamo opened the door to the bridge, and spun to face them. Kamo, sensibly, ducked and fled.

"You! You're the one who stole my boy. Where's Gep? What the hell did you do to him? Damn fucking ninjas, I should have slit your throat while you were still out cold. I could tell in my bones that you were one of them damn jounins."

So he knew about ninja rankings, that made him unusually well informed for a 'civilian' this far from the nearest ninja village. Up close Kakashi could tell that he had chakra too, although he'd obviously never learned how to use it.

"Then why didn't you?"

"Once I looked under that mask I couldn't help myself, you were just so damn pretty. I just wanted to fuck the daylights out of you."

Not the right answer. "And that's why Gep left. It wasn't what I did, but what you did. Or rather what you did to everyone else."

The pirate snarled like a caged animal. "Don't act like some fucking do-gooding saint. I know what murdering bastards your type are."

True, but right now beside the point. "How old was Gep when you met him anyway? Fourteen? Fifteen at the most?" Of course that was beside the point too. But geezers who seduced young kids just to satisfy their lust made him feel sick.

The 'Boss' took a step back, as if genuinely surprised. "Damn ninja freak, don't you lecture me on how to treat my boys. I just gave him what he wanted."

Kakashi knew he should leave it, but he just couldn't resist the chance to goad. "Mmm think so? Maybe he found something he wanted more. Someone a bit closer to his age?" He rocked his hips provocatively. "Likes white hair doesn't he?"

Suddenly Kakashi was facing into the barrel of an automatic pistol, at pointblank range. "You lying fuck. If you've touched my boy…"

The copy nin slouched a little more. "I don't think so. By the time you've flipped off the safety my…um… _associate _will have snapped your spine like a twig.

Iruka touched the back of the pirate's neck in confirmation as the smoke from the teleportation jutsu he'd just used swirled around the room and then trailed away in thin wisps. The gun fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Fucking unnatural evil freaks…"

Kakashi didn't bother hiding his smirk. "Now now, watch your language, we're about to bring a holy man aboard."

Iruka took his time patting the pirate down and removing the rest of his weapons. Then he took his lover's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "So… who's this boy you didn't touch?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto and Sakura reached the forests surrounding Konoha, without picking up so much as a trace of either of their senseis. Naruto looked around at the familiar trees, for some reason he was still feeling creeped out. He shivered and rubbed his seal.

"Do you think we could have passed them?"

"Well yeah!" Sakura rolled her eyes. "No one's gonna see them if they don't want to be seen."

She knew that it wasn't the right answer. They had no reason to hide from _them_, unless… one or both of them was so badly hurt that they were shielding themselves completely.

But she didn't want to deal with that thought right now. "Chances are they've been home for hours and we're worrying for nothing."

Asuma and his team were on gate duty. They waved them through.

"Rotten luck getting stuck here." Naruto whispered to Shikamaru, who was leaning against the tower. He seemed to be watching the village blackbirds gather on the overhead powerlines to roost for the night.

"Huh wassat? Look the next one over there will join that group, but that little flock will form a new cluster by themselves. Gate duty's not so bad, almost everyone else is weeding or walking dogs. Except the poor bastards who got assigned to help with Iruka-sensei's classes while he's gone."

Sakura's ears pricked at the sound of the teacher's name. "Iruka-sensei just got back didn't he? He was with Kakashi-sensei, they should have been just ahead of us."

There was hidden urgency in her voice that made Shikamaru avoid her eyes. "Mmm we've been here all day and I haven't seen them, but then I haven't really been paying attention."

She knew it was less than a half-truth. Shikamaru was lazy but he didn't miss anything.

The village seemed unusually tense as they made their way to the mission room. There were an unusual number of high ranked ninjas around and they seemed unusually grumpy. Amongst them they saw Shikamaru's father, walking down to meet his son as he came off duty.

"Nara-san." Sakura said, as they bowed politely.

He returned the greeting. "Sakura-chan. I'm glad I ran into you. You know Hokage-sama better than most of us. Please, won't you talk to her about this 'so called' emergency." There was a desperate edge to his voice that they weren't used to hearing from the easy-going man. "It's only been two days and my wife is already complaining about having both of us under her feet all the time. Couldn't you at least pull a few strings and get us assigned to a few patrol duties?"

"Emergency!" Naruto spluttered. "What happened while we were gone?"

Nara-san tugged at his ponytail. "Nothing, that's just it. She's got a bee in her bonnet about something, but no one has the faintest idea what."

"No one?" Sakura echoed. That didn't seem likely, it was hard to keep secrets in a ninja village, and Nara's in particular didn't miss _anything_.

She grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him into a run. "Come on, let's get over there and find out."

The mission room was tense too. And unusually full. Every seat was taken and there were people standing around in clusters drinking coffee. But few of them seemed to have any actual business there. The pair made their way to the desk where Sakura picked up a report to fill out, then dragged Naruto into a corner.

"Come on help me out with this. I've never done one on my own before." Once they were away from the crowd she lowered her voice to a whisper. You hand this in and I'll go around the back and see if I can 'accidentally' run into Shizune-san. She'll know what's happening if anyone does."

Leaving Naruto to look at the blank form in horror, she pranced out of the door. Shizune was hovering on the other side like a shadow.

"Sakura-chan, I'm glad to see you got back safely. Please come, Tsunade-sama would like to talk to you."

The pink-haired girl hesitated and shot a glance back to mission room. "Er, sure, just let me get Naruto."

"No." The woman's hand shot out with speed that came as a stark reminder that she was a jounin, despite her quiet, non-threatening ways. "She'd like to talk to you alone."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka was in the Boss's bathroom, dripping wet, with a towel around his hips, picking through the pirate's belongings. Ineffectively trying to smooth the tangles from his hair by running his fingers through it.

"Surely he has a comb somewhere, he must have."

Kakashi watched from where he was seated on the bed in the adjoining master cabin, similarly attired, rubbing at the bloodstains on his uniform with a sponge.

"He has hair like mine, doesn't need a comb."

Iruka snorted. "Yeah right. That's what you think. One day I'm gonna tie you down and comb through that mess you call 'hair' properly."

Kakashi ran his own fingers through his wet silver mop. They slipped through it easily. "See, combing it's a waste of time, it doesn't make any difference. But you could ask Sam, see if he has one."

"Funny." Iruka pulled off his wet towel and flicked it at him.

Kakashi caught it in one hand dropping the sponge, and hauled him in, so that they were chest to chest with just the one towel separating them. He licked at his catch's lips with the tip of his tongue, then nuzzled his ear, nipping the lobe between his lips.

"Mmm you smell clean. Funny soap he uses, sort of… fruity, like peaches."

Iruka felt his stomach clench and tighten into a ball inside. He took a deep breath to keep from groaning. "Yeah but I'm not complaining, except… I wish that shower was a bit bigger."

Kakashi ghosted his fingers across the other man's shoulder blades and down his spine, getting a shiver in response as the too-sensitive skin was barely stimulated. "Just as well. It's slippery and your back is still too raw, if you got pushed against the glass…"

"It's healing fine. I know what you're thinking and the answer's still no." Iruka bit his lip, he hadn't meant to sound so sharp. "I mean I'm fine, I don't want you to heal it. You need the chakra more than I do right now. How's the eye?"

Kakashi lay back on the bed. "Not bad, still aches a bit."

Iruka looked at him sternly. "I bet it does."

He leaned over him and brushed back the wet silver hair that was flopped over the sharingan with one hand. Pressing his mouth against the closed eyelid he kissed it gently, then kissed the pouting lips too for good measure.

"But I haven't forgotten your promise, and I'm keeping you to it. _When_ you have the strength."

Kakashi grabbed for him.

But he was already out of reach, pulling on his uniform. "Come on, it's not fair to leave one pacifist monk to keep control over twelve cutthroat pirates on his own."

Kakashi growled in disappointment as he levered himself up and pulled a face at his still grimy clothing. "You wouldn't call him a pacifist if you'd ever sparred with him."

Somewhere in a deep recess of his brain he was mentally checking off the mermaid's crew. Twelve?

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was strange but Jiraiya found that he missed Naruto. After living and working alone for more than twenty years, Tsunade and the council had practically had to twist his arm all the way off to get him to agree to train the kid. And he'd only done it then because he knew as well as they did, how important it was to put some distance between the kyuubi vessel and Konoha. But now being out on his own, alone, felt strange. The boy's loud brashness had rubbed off on him during the years they'd been together, rekindling the wilder, rougher side of his nature that had become stilled during his time as a hermit. But of course, being quiet had its compensations.

From his perch in a tall ash, he looked down at the two young women lying in the grass below, enjoying the last few rays of autumn sunlight. One of them pulled up a knee, making her skirt slide up her leg and baring the soft skin on her inner thigh. It was golden like her face and arms, except for the top few inches. Mmm, a tan line, he liked tan lines. She must have worn shorts all summer. Maybe there was a bikini line too, above it, with even whiter skin.

He twisted his neck to get a better view. So close, so close, now if she were to just crook that knee a little higher, then maybe spread the other…

The girl sat up and looked around blushing. She jumped to her feet and giggled as she tugged at her companion's hands. "Come on Koo, it's getting chilly. Let's go back."

They ran off, shapely limbs flashing and breasts bouncing, towards a cluster of farms in the near distance.

Jiraiya felt his cheeks prickle as he leaned back onto the trunk of the tree. Nice, very nice. Now where was he? Right, gathering information. Trying to identify the threat that was hanging in the air around Konoha like some kind of invisible fog.

He slipped out of the tree and set off towards the sun, along the same path as that taken by the women, continuing his circle around the village in an ever widening spiral. Doing what he did best, peeking and prying.

No one could launch an attack without thoroughly scouting the area first, and even the most subtle of spies left some kind of trail. There would be changes where their chakra had touched other living things, alterations in nature's energy flow. Even the grass he was walking on was changed by his presence. He could feel it, a streak of emerald, spreading behind him like a ship's wake on the fading green of the meadow. These were the kind of clues and inconsistencies he was looking for. Of course the whole area was laced with chakra trails, but spies had a distinctive flavour. One he was familiar with because he'd been a spy for so long himself. If the clues were there he'd find them, and when he did he'd track them to their source.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Something about seeing the pirate boss bound to his own chair gave Kakashi a profound sense of satisfaction. Almost like payback. He walked around and crouched in front of him… again.

"So there's absolutely nothing more you can tell me about the man with the black hair."

"I told you I met him twice. Quite a looker in his own way, I practically had to hold the women in the crew back with a lash, but not my type."

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eye. "Try thinking with your brain instead of your dick. Didn't you want to know why he wanted you to get ninja fighters for him."

"Isn't that obvious? To fight! And I used my brain plenty. One of my traps caught a sneaky bastard like you didn't it?" He frowned and tried to shift his wrists against the ropes

"Look you and me we're two of a kind. Well just look at us, you could pass as my kid brother. That's why we can understand each other, come to an agreement. I've been thinking about _this_ too. I've got a bargain for you."

The suggestion earned him a very cold look.

"Here's how it is, you two are Konoha nins right? Well I know something about Konoha that you don't. Tell me where to find Gep and I'll let you in on it."

That had to be the oldest trick in the book. "You think I'll fall for that? Your man Kamo hadn't even heard of Fire Country."

"Neither had I. But the guy you keep asking about, the one with black hair, well he had us do a little side job. Picking up some stuff, and when we were bringing it back to the port I heard him whispering to the old man. One of them said Konoha. It was the first time I ever heard the word. I thought it was his customer and that if this Konoha was paying enough for them to pay me the way they were, well, I might like to try cutting them out of the deal next time."

So his insatiable greed had made him remember something worthwhile, men whispering about Konoha, and on the way to Port Kaizoku no less. Maybe this _was_ worth hearing. "What kind of stuff?

"Boxes. Got 'em off a big freighter ten miles off the coast. I dunno what was in them, but they was heavy. And from they way they told us to handle them, either fragile or explosive… or both."

"You know where they are now?"

"The question is do _you_ want to know?"

"You have to convince me it's worth knowing, before I agree to anything."

The pirate boss didn't bother to hide an admiring glance. "Damn, you _are_ a sneaky bastard aren't you? We buried them, back in wind country. In the desert."

"You'll take me there if I tell you where you can find the kid?" Kakashi felt his heart sink. The only thing he wanted to do right now was get Iruka back to Konoha. But if this lead was for real he had no choice but to follow it.

"That's the bargain. Look I know I didn't treat him right, but I've learned my lesson. I care for him, always did. And I want him back. I really… want him back. I think you know what I mean." He looked from Kakashi to Iruka and back again.

Kakashi considered, it seemed fair on the face of it. Gep's village was the most well hidden he'd ever seen. If they hadn't run into the merchant they'd probably have never found it themselves. The pirates would never find it again without help. And if his suspicions were right about those boxes…

Back on the island the old man had said that he'd test his loyalty to his village against a more basic loyalty. Kakashi hadn't expected to be tested so soon.

He pulled Iruka outside the door. "Listen, I want you to go back through Cloud with Sam. He's strong, he'll take good care of you. You know that I have to follow up on this, but _you_ must get back to Konoha as soon as possible."

Iruka put his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him close, resting his head on his shoulder. His voice trembled as he whispered. "No, Kakashi, please. Keep me with you, I'm not safe with anyone but you."

Kakashi pulled back so that he could look into is eyes. "Iruka, it's ok. Sampo's a good man, I know he came on to you before, he told me himself. But it won't happen again, I promise. I'd trust him with my life and I'll trust him with yours."

Iruka leaned forward again and shook his head so that Kakshi could feel his ponytail brushing against his hair. "You don't understand. It's not him I don't trust, it's me."

He straightened and adjusted the other man's headband, forcing him to look at him with the sharingan eye. "Remember what that sennin said. My blood is his blood now, and Yoko was his tool. I don't want to end up like she did, as his tool. Don't you see?" His jaw clenched tight. "It's hard for me to admit this, even to you, but I'm afraid. You know what happened before, and then I was just breathing his mist, now his blood is in my veins. Please don't make me go through another hell like that on my own."

Kakashi's heart ached so hard he thought it would burst. Iruka was right, he couldn't leave him. But he couldn't turn down the pirate's offer either. A detour around the peninsula to Sand would cost them two days easily. He used the sharingan to scan Iruka thoroughly, starting and ending with the wolf bite on his leg. He seemed perfectly normal so far, so maybe they did have time.

It didn't really matter in any case, clearly he had no choice.

He opened the door and stepped back into the bridge. "I don't remember exactly where Gep's village is, it was a tiny place, but I do know where you can find someone who can tell you. Show me where those boxes are buried and I'll show you where you can find them. I'll draw you a map."

A feral grin spread over the boss's rugged face as Kakashi slit through the ropes.

"Now you're not planning on tricking me are you?"

Kakashi's voice sounded strained with regret, but completely thruthful. "No. On my oath as a Konoha shinobi, I'll keep my promise."

The pirate stretched his arms and flexed his fingers as he yelled into the microphone on the control panel in front of him. "Full speed ahead mateys, change of plan, let's set a course for Port Kaizoku."


	18. Chapter 18

A.N.

As said upfront, this story is rated M for a reason. This chapter gets a little more graphic that I'm entirely comfortable posting. If anyone thinks its too much, send me an email or review and I'll cut it, or take off the last part and post it elsewhere. Thanks Tampopo.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi and Iruka each took twelve-hour shifts on The Mermaid. Keeping watch on the bridge. The pirate crew and their cunning boss obviously had to kept under close watch, and even closer threat, at all times. This meant that the two ninjas had little time together and _no_ time at all, together, alone.

When he wasn't on duty, Iruka kept himself shut up inside their cabin. It was the Boss's cabin, the largest and by far the most comfortable, with the only private bathroom on the ship. Kakashi had taken it more out of principle than because he actually liked it. He'd have been much happier and more comfortable wrapped in a blanket on the deck, under the open sky. Iruka tried to sleep as much as he could, but sleep didn't come easy. Once or twice he caught himself looking at his hands, to see if they were getting hairy, or if he was growing wolf claws. Although Yoko had always looked normal enough. Or at least he thought she had, but with the mind-altering effect of that red mist, who knew?

Sampo had claimed the tiny cabin next to theirs, Gep's. Which looked as if it had hardly ever been used. At the beginning of the second day he cornered Kakashi there, on his way to bed and dragged him inside.

"Kakashi-kun, what's up between you two? You and your chuunin?"

The copy nin wrinkled his nose against the strong smell of incense in the room. "Nothing Sam, really. It's good."

The monk shook his head. "I've told you before, you can't lie to me, I've known you too long. And _he_ looks scared to death."

Kakashi looked at his friend carefully. Surely, if there was anyone he could confide in it was Sam. They'd drifted apart since Sampo and his father had left their family estate in Konoha, and then he'd hardly seen him since he become a novice monk at the age of twelve. But that had been his own fault. Sam, more than any of his old friends, had struggled to maintain the thread of a connection of some kind between them. Even willing to settle for an hour or so of quick sex on those occasions when their paths had crossed.

It had been no surprise to him that the monk had done so well, risen so fast, to become one of the youngest abbots on record. He was strong, wise, and most of all kind, right down to the core. More than any other person he'd ever met.

"You know a lot about the Ookami clan don't you Sam? Can you tell me anything about Ookami Ketsuekimusha?"

"The Blood Warrior? Of course. He was the founder of Hidden Mist. One of the first Hidden Villages."

The old sennin's ancestor had founded Mist? Somehow it seemed fitting. "What about his descendents, do you know anything about them?"

"He didn't have any. That's why he was eventually deposed and exiled. He experimented on his own shinobi, trying to pass on the blood jutsu, trying to create an heir. But he always failed. They either became mindless slaves to the jutsu or died struggling against it. In the end his evil ways were too much even for that savage place. They wrapped their faces with bandages against his blood mist and rose against him. Most Mist ninjas still cover their faces as part of their uniform, that's where the tradition came from."

No descendents? That could only mean… "Sam! The man we were fighting on Wolf Island, _he _was the Wolf Blood Warrior. He's still alive."

The monk chuckled. "Kakashi, that's not possible. He'd be more than a hundred and twenty years old."

The copy nin looked out of the porthole to the horizon, where the last rays of the sun were staining the sky as red as the pools of blood they'd left behind on Ookami Island. The white haired sennin had obviously been old, it was hard to believe he was _that _old, but he'd heard of stranger things. As he thought it through, somehow Kakashi knew, just knew, that the old man _was_ Ketsuekimusha. Just as he claimed. Somehow the founder of Bloody Mist had found a way to beat back death until he could accomplish what he'd set out to do.

"He got Iruka Sam."

Suddenly the big man was wrapped around him, hugging him like a bear. "Oh Kakashi-kun, I'm so sorry."

Kakashi could feel tears prickling in his eyes for the second time in less than a week.

Sampo could _feel_ the other man's wretchedness, although his voice and his posture barely changed. Seeing his friend, his hero, in so much pain was almost more than the big man could stand, but he knew that _he _couldn't provide the kind of comfort that he needed.

"Go and get him Kakashi. Now. Show him how much you love him, you know what I mean. I can watch over this ship and a few ruffians, and I'll know where to find you if I need help." His large handsome face brightened with a smile. "Don't worry I'll knock first."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sakura had no idea why she felt so nervous as she knocked on Tsunade's door. The Hokage was her mentor, her sensei, her friend. But something in Shizune's tone of voice had set her nerves on edge, although no one who knew the dark-haired medic less well would have noticed any difference at all in her quiet words.

One of the ANBU guards opened the door.

"Come in. Good, Sakura-chan, I heard you were back. Wait outside."

The last order was directed at the ANBU.

Tsunade turned her attention back to Sakura. "Close the door behind you… and take a seat."

Sakura obediently did as she was told, feeling more nervous than ever. "Hokage-sama, our mission went very well…"

"Yes yes. You accompanied some rich old geezer to the capital of Wave then back to his village again. You can dump the report on that heap over there, since Iruka-sensei's not here to scowl at me about how disorganised they are."

Sakura suppressed an anxious smile. So even Tsunade-sama wasn't immune to the teacher's 'sensei glare'. Iruka-sensei _isn't_ back yet?"

"No. That's one of the reasons I called you in here. Or part of a larger reason." Tsunade rested her chin on her interwoven fingers and leaned forward on her elbows. Shinobi have been going missing, lots of them, for over a year now. Sand has lost a dozen that we know of, cloud too. Probably the other villages as well. Iruka-sensei seems to be the first from Konoha. There was an attempt on Kakashi-san, but it was unsuccessful."

Of course it was unsuccessful. Sakura couldn't resist a certain feeling of smugness, of pride. Kakashi-sensei was the best.

"Is that why you called an emergency, Hokage-sama?"

The older woman nodded. Her apprentice had a sharp mind. "Partly. There's something out there, a threat. I can feel it in the air like a gathering storm. I've lived through wars before, too many wars, and whatever this is I want to be ready for it when it breaks."

There was dark intensity in her words that made Sakura shiver. "What do you want me to do to help Hokage-sama."

Yes very sharp, she'd been a good choice. "I want you to watch over Naruto. I don't have to tell you that the kyuubi's power is a two edged sword, you've seen it yourself. He can use it to slice down our enemies, but if it's turned against us it could destroy the whole village. "

"Naruto?" She looked down at the floor between her feet. Naruto could destroy the village?

"Yes. Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-san would have been my first choice, but… Anyway, keep close to him at all times, and try to keep him here, within reach of myself or Shizune as much as possible." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You understand that no one else must know about this?"

Sakura nodded. Keep Naruto close, in the village, if possible in this building, with the threat of something terrible coming and Iruka-sensei still out there and missing. How the hell was she supposed to be able to do that?

"Could you assign us some work to do, maybe in the mission room? Something that sounds important? Maybe we could go through the reports on all Iruka-sensei's old missions, you know look for the name of an old enemy who might have targeted him."

Yes the girl was very sharp indeed. "An excellent idea Sakura-chan. You could go through Kakashi-san's reports too, because of their, er, relationship. That should keep you both busy for a while."

As Sakura bowed and turned to leave, she finally let her smile break through. So, what goes around comes around. Iruka-sensei had suffered years of deciphering Naruto's handwriting while they were in the academy. Now to help find him, to save him, Naruto was to be condemned to countless hours of picking through Kakashi-sensei's horrible scrawl. And she knew that he would do it gladly.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka knew something was most definitely up when Kakashi and Sampo marched onto the bridge and stood on either side of him. They were both grinning from ear to ear for one. He felt a momentary flare of jealousy. Just what had they been doing to make them so happy? But almost at once he knew that he was wrong. It was obvious to anyone that the monk was red hot for Kakashi and that probably explained why he had gone after _him_. Secondhand Kakashi was better than no Kakashi at all. But deep inside he was sure that Kakashi wouldn't cheat on him. Completely sure. …Well almost completely sure. Sampo _had_ been the one who had laughed at the idea that Kakashi could be faithful to anyone. But then again, surely neither of them would be so obvious about it.

The loud tap-tapping of claws on the metal floor announced the entrance of a small dog.

Sampo took a seat at the control panel and lifted Pakkun onto his lap. He waved goodbye theatrically as Kakashi took Iruka's hand and led him away.

"Sam's taking your watch for you. He said we need to spend more _quality_ time together."

"Yeah, and I've been summoned for back up. As if I didn't have anything better to do." Pakkun grunted, as he turned in circles, trying to find some softness in the monk's muscular thighs.

Iruka felt his cheeks reddening. With embarrassment, he had a pretty good idea of exactly what quality time implied, and with shame for doubting the two men.

The pirate boss watched them leave with undisguised lust in his eyes. Kakashi could tell that if he had just an ounce more balls, and a whole lot less instinct for self-preservation, he'd have asked if he could join them. Sampo had the same look, but was directing his attention to petting the pug on his lap, trying painfully hard to keep it hidden.

They sat on the bed in the master cabin, with the edgy discomfort and eager anticipation of newlyweds in their honeymoon hotel.

Iruka tentatively reached towards Kakashi's mask, pulled it down, and stared at him, letting the emotions evoked by the man's mere presence flow through him in a delicious flood. "Sampo really is a good man isn't he?"

Kakashi slowly removed his gloves, dropped them onto the floor, then used two pale fingers to brush aside a stray tendril of dark hair. "Yep. You've lived too much of your life around ninjas Iruka-sensei. With Sam there is no underneath, what you see is exactly what there is, honest and straightforward. …Scary, isn't it?"

He pulled out Iruka's hair band and ran his fingers through his silky locks. "So you did find a comb somewhere."

The teacher's face split into a mischievous grin. "No, never did. They have these things in the kitchen, er, galley, called sporks. I must have broken ten of them getting all the tangles out."

Kakshi's perfectly sculpted face came alive with laughter. "Sporks! You combed your hair with sporks! Only you Iruka-sensei."

The tan cheeks took on a shading of pink. "A ninja is resourceful, uses whatever's available to do what he needs to do. Rule number… well I'm sure it's in there somewhere."

His mind was clearly otherwise occupied, his hands were occupied too, unfastening Kakashi's jacket.

The copy nin kept completely still, basking in the moment, drinking in the sensation of Iruka's hands sliding under his jacket to ease it off. But he couldn't resist a gasp as the hands slipped under his shirt to ease that over his head too.

Iruka put a palm flat on each side of his chest and pushed him back onto the bed. Kakashi put his own hands over them. "Wait. Will you indulge an old fantasy of mine?"

Suspicion clouded the teacher's face and his eyes narrowed. "What kind of fantasy, and will it take more than two minutes because I'm getting impatient here."

"Well… I've often wondered what you'd look like as a pirate. Ever since I first learned your name. Pirate Umino? And here we are on a pirate ship…"

"Pirate Umino? You do realise that's completely redundant, I mean aren't all pirates 'of the sea'? Do you get them anywhere else?"

"Ok, then Scarface Umino, that's even better."

Kakashi was already darting around the room pulling clothes out of closets and chests. "He must have some traditional pirate outfits here somewhere, you know for festivals and things."

"Kakashi! I don't think pirates have festivals. They're all outlaws with prices on their heads. I hardly think they get together to celebrate pirating. What would they do? Plank-walking contests?"

"Half the Villages have had a price on my head on and off since I was ten, it's never stopped me. Now this has some potential." He held up a large collar-less shirt. "Good thing he's much bigger than you."

He removed the other man's jacket and shirt, pausing only momentarily to sneak a look at the partly healed scabs on his back, then slipped on the oversized garment. Using a strip of cloth from his leg binding, he bound it tightly around the waist, fastened the cuffs tight, then poofed it out.

"Not bad, but it needs more." He pulled out his sword and tucked it into the bindings so that it hung at Iruka's side. "There very rakish." And went back to searching for more accessories.

"Now some big gold earrings would be just the thing…" He dug into a carved wooden chest with ornate brass hinges. "Look there's lube here, a ton of it. And kinky stuff, chains. You can chain me to the bed… as your prisoner." He grinned in a way that would have removed anyone's doubts about his wolf ancestry. "…Of love."

But Iruka didn't hear the last sentence past the blood rushing in his ears, even as it drained from his face. When he was able to speak his voice was small, and breathless, but in all the wrong ways. "No. I… I can handle ropes right now but not… not chains."

Kakakasi stopped cold in his foraging. Iruka was hunched on the side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest, almost in a fetal position. He was next to him in an instant, with his own arms wrapped around him, kissing his face softly.

"Ruka, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok, there's no way you could know."

"Forget it, all of it. I want to make some good memories for us, not bring back bad ones."

Iruka grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the lips. "Then let's use the good memories to drive out the bad. Get those chains."

Kakashi shed the rest of his clothes and stretched out on the bed, carefully hiding his concern under a thick layer of playfulness. "Which way up? Do you want to fuck me or ride me?"

Iruka grinned nervously as he picked up the heavy iron chains. "Pointy part facing up. Scarface Umino rules and rides more than just the waves, and I haven't had you in me for… well for too long."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After three days of waiting in the mangrove swamp even Lee had to accept that Gai-sensei was not going to 'be right back'.

Team Gai headed home towards fire country, slowly, reluctantly. Looking behind for the approach of their sensei constantly. Of course, since it was Neiji who was looking, they were also looking ahead, to both sides, and in every other direction constantly as well.

As they were closing in on the outer ring of the forest hiding the hidden village of Hidden Leaf, he paused and signaled his teammates to duck behind a rocky outcropping.

"Ssh… there. In the…sixth, no seventh tree in that direction." He tapped his finger against the stone. "There's someone up there."

Tenten had an assortment of weapons in each hand in a flash. "Who? What? Can you tell?"

Neiji allowed his head to move from side to side almost imperceptibly, while seeming to keep his colourless eyes directed at the same square inch of rock, a foot in front of his face. "Just a little too far to see clearly, but I don't think he knows we're here yet."

Lee opened his eyes wide. "Do you think it's an ambush?"

Neiji watched him… while still watching the tree. "I can't think of any other reason why someone would be hiding in a tree, can you?"

Tenten felt her scalp bristle, she'd been itching for some action for days. "Lee, you're the fastest so you distract him, Neiji and I will bring him down and we'll haul him back into Konoha with us. Hokage-sama will show him what we do with creeps sneaking up on people in trees.

Jiraiya saw a flash of movement, impossibly fast, behind the trees. At last a real break, but he couldn't take any chances. It might well be an ambush. They picked a good spot for it too, the forest was so dense here that they had excellent cover, no one would be able to see very far. He leapt over three trees in a single hop. Then ducked as a kunai thudded into the branch behind him. Good aim, from that range too. He tracked it back to its point of origin, and saw… oh my, what a sweet little vision.

As Tenten aimed again he slid his hand down her arm from behind and made a tiny correction to the angle of her shoulder. "Very good my dear, you were less than two inches off, but remember a miss is still as good as a mile."

The girl stiffened as she felt the deep rumble of his voice, and felt his hot breath in her hair. She tried to spin around and slash a shuriken across his throat, but he was holding her firmly by both wrists. Jiraiya heard the thud of her remaining weapons dropping to the ground. He was starting to curve his lips into a smile when he felt a touch on his back and the distressing, but unfortunately not unfamiliar, sensation of his chakra points sealing over.

Oh shit. Was this a set up?

"Hiashi, I'm sorry. I had no idea your wife and daughters were at the women's hot spring as I was, er… passing by. I promise I wouldn't have gone near the place if I'd known." Jiraiya's deep resonant voice took on a note of forced humour. "Frankly I wouldn't waste my time, even you've got to admit it takes _Hyuuga_ eyes to see tits on those girls even when they are stark naked."

The response was immediate and very loud. "What! How dare you say that about my cousins/friends/comrades!"

It came at him from three directions, in three quite different voices.

He blinked hard and found himself staring into the fresh faces of three very young Konoha chuunins. And they were staring just as hard at him.

Neiji was the one to break the silence.

The young Hyuuga released his hold. "Jiraiya-sama I presume." He bowed then stood firm even as the other members of his team seemed to wilt down into their clothes at the mention of the legendary Toad Sennin's name.

"Er, yes. And you would be…?"

"Team Gai." Tenten answered, struggling to recover her battered poise.

The great white-maned sennin loomed in front of her. Great, so now he was supposed to track spies with Konoha's green beast crashing around in the forest. But he wasn't completely surprised. He'd thought that he'd sensed a hint of him. "Ah! So… where is Maitai Gai?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Captain Red-eye, my arch nemesis, at last you are in my clutches." Iruka rubbed at the tight cuffs of the boss's shirt with lube slicked fingers. "Can't I take this off now? I feel like such a dork wearing it all puffed up like this, especially with no… you know, with nothing else."

From his position chained to the bed, wearing nothing but some strips of cloth around his wrists to prevent the iron cuffs from chafing, Kakashi thought he looked perfect. Iruka, no, Scarface Umino's black hair draped forward onto the white linen shirt as he leaned forward straddling his chest, tan thighs splayed on either side. Golden, glorious. And between them, peeking cheekily from beneath the frill formed by the shirt's bottom few inches, the most perfect, perfectly hard, perfectly proportioned, perfectly beautiful cock on the seven seas.

"Mmmm, looks good from here. Are you threatening me with that weapon Scarface Umino?"

Iruka looked puzzled for a moment, the sword had been discarded almost at once as too cumbersome. His eyes followed Kakashi's line of sight. Oh… _that _weapon.

He inched forward, eyes shining, brushing the weapon in question up the length of the other's torso. "I'll make you taste the point of my steel you scum."

"Steel? Seems more like wood to me." Kakashi licked his lips in anticipation.

Moving forward a little more, Iruka felt Kakashi make contact. The copy nin closed his eyes and stretched, probing around the edge its head, using all the exquisite sensitivities of his tongue. Yes! That's what he wanted, the taste of Iruka, unique, perfect.

Iruka gasped as most of his shaft was engulfed. He felt strong hands on his buttocks, pulling his back into an arc as a quicksilver tongue traced its way along the little furrow on its underside. It sent shivers of pleasure tingling through his groin, up his spine, and through every nerve in his body.

"Just a minute!" He opened his eyes. "Kakashi! You're supposed to be chained! Put those manacles back on. If you aren't going to do this properly…"

He pulled back indignantly, if reluctantly, and glared into the other man's pout.

Kakashi slipped his hands back into the cuffs with ridiculous ease. "But I couldn't reach."

Iruka sighed. He wasn't ready to give up control completely, not yet. "You aren't supposed to reach, I'm torturing you, remember."

"That's true enough. Please Iruka, let me bring you off, just once. You'll come too quickly otherwise."

"No, this is what I want." Kakashi's lips and tongue would be there later if he still needed them.

He shuffled back and reached for Kakashi behind him, already slippery with oil. It had been a long time, and he was tight, but he couldn't wait any longer. There was a jolt of pain as he impaled himself, but it was soon overwhelmed by familiar pleasure, as he tilted his pelvis just so and the mound of his prostate brushed down the length of that delectable organ spiking into him. He settled his weight onto it, feeling full, filled, and leaned forward, melting into a long breathless kiss. Both ends of his body felt on fire with desire, flames that could only be fueled by Kakashi.

"You can lose the chains now."

He felt Kakashi's lips curve into a smile under his, moments before he felt fingers stroking his hair, trailing over the skin on his throat, then moving to unwind the fabric at his waist."

"Let's get rid of this shirt too."

Iruka opened one eye to glance at the iron manacles. Now they were just another tool, the menace was gone. Whether they were used for good or bad depended entirely on the intent of the user.

"This doesn't count you know."

"Count?"

"Ah huh, you still have to fuck me senseless."


	19. Chapter 19

By the time they woke the sun had long since set. Through the porthole Kakashi could see the lights of Port Koizuko, like the haze of a distant galaxy, hovering on the black water.

"Mmm. Only another hour or so out. But I don't want to dock until almost sunrise, it's best if we don't try to get through that place in the dark. There's no point putting ourselves at a disadvantage, and we should give Sam a few hours to rest too."

Iruka sat up and wrapped his arms around him from behind. "Ok, I'll take a shower then take over for him." He blew into his lover's ear and whispered. "Thank you… for yesterday, you were incredible Captain Redeye."

Kakashi turned to press him into a long slow kiss. Who knew when they'd next have the chance to be alone? He closed his eyes as he ran the tip of his tongue around Iruka's parted lips in several long slow circles. At first touching just the sensitive outer skin, then moving in to the opening itself, then delving under, feeling teeth, gums and tasting the greatest concentration of sweetness. Iruka kept still, breathing shallowly through his nose, just enjoying, until all at once it wasn't enough. Then he pressed forward too, thrusting his tongue forcefully into the warm moistness that was Kakashi. The kiss became urgent, passionate, each of them gulping air, swallowing saliva, their own and each others, as they pushed to join themselves as close and a deeply as possible, for as long as possible.

In the end it was Iruka who broke away. He looked dazed, almost glassy-eyed, as he stumbled towards the bathroom. "Well I suppose I should get dressed.

Kakashi called after him. "Wait. Iruka, how many crew have you seen aboard?"

The teacher stood gaping and confused for a moment as he processed the question thrown at him out of nowhere. But just for a moment, Kakashi did that. He might accuse him of having a 'one track mind', but really it had so many tracks, so many layers, all working at once.

"Twelve. I count them whenever I'm on duty. Then there's the captain, or the boss as they call him. So that makes thirteen." He grinned. "Unlucky for them."

Kakashi _didn't_ smile back. "There are seventeen people on this ship."

Iruka stopped. "What?"

"You, me, Sampo and fourteen others. There's someone aboard that we don't know about." He let a moment of silence hang in the air. "Wait for me once you're ready, we'll check it out before we let poor Sam off the hook."

It only took a few minutes to find her. Kakashi homed in on the human presence with relative ease, but he was shocked when Iruka opened the door of the tiny room below decks, to see that she was wearing a headband with a single note engraved on it. Surely Orochimaru must have made it clear that no one should capture his people, and that he wouldn't pay for them if they did. Or maybe sound wasn't behind this after all. Not only that but he wasn't feeling any chakra from the woman either.

Iruka was shocked too. The manacles she was chained to the bed with, were exactly like the ones they'd been using for their sex games, hours before.

The woman looked up as the light from the passage illuminated the room. Then Iruka recognised her… and she recognised him.

"You! The Konoha swordsman!" Her glittering insect eyes swept past him. "And that white haired bitch too. I swear I'll get free of these chains and kill both of you for what you've done."

"Excuse me… did you just call me a bitch?"

She pulled herself up as far as she could at the sound of Kakashi's deep baritone voice.

"So who are you? Her brother?"

Then she recognised him too. "Well I'll be damned, Sharingan Kakashi. What the hell is going on here? Looks like you're an even bigger pervert than they say."

Kakashi stood slouched in the doorway. He inched up his headband just enough to peer under it with the sharingan. As he had suspected she had no visible chakra at all, it must sealed pretty damn tight. He ignored the last part of her remark.

"I _was_ going to set you free… but if you swear you're going to kill us, well…then that doesn't seem like quite such a good idea. I take it you're jounin rank?"

"I am, though I don't see what it is to you."

"Mmm, the pirates' 'customer' doesn't seem to be interested in anyone ranked above chuunin, too much trouble I suppose. But you've got good legs and a nice pair of tits. Maybe they hoped to sell you off to a different kind of customer. Iruka, search her. You're looking for a jutsu scroll, a small one, but don't touch it when you find it. Start with her shoes, then try the bindings."

She flinched as Iruka stepped forward. "Keep your hands off me you damn filthy pervert."

Kakashi didn't bother to suppress a lecherous grin as he left the room. Neither of the others would see it anyway. "No… as you said, I'm the pervert. I promise you're _completely_ safe with him."

There was nothing in her shoes so Iruka started to unwrap the strips of cloth wound tightly around her chest and thighs. His total disinterest in her body didn't escape her. She did have a nice pair of tits, very nice, and she was rightly proud of them. But as they were exposed, by the last layer of cloth being peeled away, the Konoha guy didn't even give them a passing glance. It was as if he was a medic peeling the bandage off a broken finger.

"So are you gay or something?"

Iruka started to unwind the cloth from around her thigh, the one he had injured in their fight a couple of weeks before. "Yes."

She let the tension escape from her body in a loud peel of laughter. "Don't tell me. You're in love with Hatake."

He bristled slightly at the disrespectful lack of title. "Yes."

"Ha, so how's that working out for you, the swordsman and the pervert. Bet that white haired bitch was disappointed, even I could feel the hot vibes coming off her." Her intese stare became more intese still. "Where is she anyway?"

Iruka fought furiously to suppress his blush even as his irritation grew. She was a little too close to the truth for comfort, but then she was a jounin. "It turned out that you were right about her, she was evil. But she was my client and it was my duty to protect her, I'm sure you understand. Anyway, she's dead now, Kakashi killed her."

"Oh Kakashi is it? So I guess you _have _been crossing 'swords' with him? Or is he the kind to just stab it straight in?"

At that moment a strip of cloth fell away to reveal the top edge of a paper, pressed against her skin. Thank god. He was already reduced to using chakra to fight back his anger. "This must be it."

"What the… how the hell did that get there? What the hell is it?"

"I don't know, but obviously Hatake-_san_ does."

Iruka allowed relief to wash over him, as he practically ran from the room, slamming the door and leaving her in the dark. He leaned into the cold metal wall, breathing hard. There were some women who just made him want to scream. It took him a few moments to realise that Kakashi was watching from the other side of the passageway.

The copy nin took a step closer, so that his presence filled the narrow space. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're beautiful when you're angry?"

If looks could kill it would have taken a week to scrub the blood off the walls. "Don't even start Kakashi. Where the hell did you go anyway?"

"Just to check up on things, Sam still has it under control. So did you find it?"

"Yeah, under the bindings on her thigh."

Kakashi opened the door and they re-entered the room. He wandered over to the prisoner casually, and ran his fingers over the paper stuck to her inner thigh. She squirmed, although she was obviously trying not to.

"It's a chakra seal, I'm sure you've noticed that you're as weak as a kitten. If I take it off you should be back to normal. So… I could do it now, or I could leave you here like this for a few hours until we dock. Personally I don't have a strong preference, but seeing you wandering around the ship completely free would piss off the bully upstairs no end, and I do rather feel like pissing him off. So which shall it be?"

"You can set her free." They both looked at Iruka, neither of them had expected him to speak. "She has no weapons on her and her jutsu uses dust." He kicked his sandal against the metal floor to indicate lack of said substance. "She won't be a threat to us even with chakra."

"Well if the good sensei says so…" Kakashi gripped the paper by a corner and twitched it free. The woman let out a deep orgasmic gasp, then sat up, breaking all the chains at once.

"Why are you doing this? Sound and Leaf are enemies, you should be killing me instead of helping me. What do you want."

Kakashi sighed. "Just don't get in our way. But if you want to do something for me then take this advice. Go back to where you came from, before you joined Sound. I've known Orochimaru my whole life, he was teammate to my sensei's sensei. And if I said he doesn't give a fuck about anyone but himself, I'd be lying. It makes him sound like a saint compared to the truth. To him you're nothing more than a third rate weapon that he's taken from his enemy. He'll use you recklessly, throw you out like trash if you're in the way, or melt you down without a second thought to try to make something else that he thinks will be more useful"

Her black eyes glared. "So now the great Sharingan Kakashi is giving career advice."

"I don't like to see good shinobi destroyed for no reason. I've told you what I know, what you do with it is up to you. And take a shower, you smell as if you've been chained to a bed for a week."

He took Iruka by the hand and led him out of the room, leaving the door open. He couldn't resist a little smirk under his mask as he rolled up the scroll, power sealed, it and stashed it away. That release as her chakra points opened had sounded pretty good, he was sorry he couldn't remember it.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto and Sakura were both surprised and impressed by the quantity and difficulty of Iruka's old missions. And those were just the ones they'd be given access to. Who knew that he'd done so many A class? They read through them carefully, eliminating those that were routine and trying to identify those that had led to conflict with someone who might seek revenge.

Deep in her heart Sakura knew that it was all a waste of time, a distraction. That whatever it was that had kept Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei from returning home, wasn't going to be found in a dusty old scroll. But it was fun learning about her friend and old sensei, and it wasn't as if there was anything better to do. Naruto urged her on with demon enhanced chakra, collating, re-collating, cross-referencing, with speed and fervor that left her dizzy.

On the way home they met up with team Asuma, and casually mentioned what they were doing. So they were only slightly surprised when Ino, Shikamaru and Chou showed up to help the following day. By the day after, the remaining eight of the old rookie nine were all shuffling through old missions and reports in the filing space behind the mission room. Or at least seven of them were. Shikamaru spent most of the time lying on his back watching dust motes dance in the sunbeams streaming through the window.

"Do you all realise that there is just as much stuff in all the rest of the air in this room. This little bit of dust is only showing up because the light is shining right on it. Imagine what amazing things we must miss everyday. Things that are in plain sight but invisible, just because the light isn't shining on them."

As most of them had expected, Iruka's reports yielded very little. Beyond confirming how very badly they had all underestimated the teacher during their time at the academy. If they'd known then, that _this _was what he was capable of, they surely would never have risked angering him _quite _as often.

Kakashi-sensei's reports, however, were another matter. For one thing there were just so many. How on earth did he do all this, be two or three hours late for everything and still laze around reading his smutty books twenty-five hours a day? But what frustrated the little gang of investigators most was that _more than half_ of his missions were classified. Surely _that_ was where they should be looking. The more dangerous the enemies the more likely they would be to hold a serious grudge. And to have the ability to follow through with it. However they all resigned themselves to dealing with the papers they'd been given access to. They could work on getting hold of the others later.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

As the darkest hours gradually faded into dawn, the crew of The Mermaid became more and more restless. For anyone who'd spent any time at sea, there was something about being so close to port, but not allowed to dock that just rankled. Kakashi allowed the Boss to go about the ship freely for the first time since they'd come aboard. It was much too late for him to try anything, and if the pirate was going to lead them into the desert then he had legitimate arrangements to make. Besides, there was no one to keep tabs on him. Kakashi had no choice other than to stay on the bridge right now and for some unknown reason just looking at the pirate city left him profoundly unsettled. It made him feel an urgent need to keep Iruka close by.

Maybe it was because he was so on edge that as the sound jounin appeared out of stealth in the doorway, he sprang in front of the teacher, with a weapon drawn, the moment he felt the first hint of unfamiliar chakra.

"Relax, he's not much interest to me is he?"

She looked past Kakashi to Iruka. Then pulled a sword out of a large canvas bag. "Here, take it. It was with the weapons they took from me. I found it in that place near Waterfall, when I went back to try to track you down. I don't have any particular skill with blades, but it seemed like a waste to leave it."

She considered for a moment then emptied the rest of the bag's contents onto the floor. "Take the rest of them as well. I can tell by the way you're moving that you're both too lightly armed for a serious battle. I don't know what you're doing or where you're going, but it doesn't take a genius to know it's big."

Kakashi picked up a long tapered kunai from the pile of ninja weapons and fingered its edge. Taki craftsmanship by the look of it. Well used, but well maintained too, and first rate quality.

"Are you sure?" He indicated the grey outline of the city looming against the brightening sky. "You do know where we are, don't you? Port Koizuko isn't a place to take lightly."

She tossed her head cockily. "I've kept enough to defend myself. But after two years missing I won't get a very good reception in Cloud if I show up armed to the teeth. And I won't really need them." She shot a piercing glance at Iruka. "It's a dirty town and there's plenty of dust along the way."

Iruka held the sword in one hand and bowed deeply. "Thank you, they will be useful. You could have sold these for a decent amount of money in the port.

She glanced around at the pirate crewmembers in the room. Kamo in particular cowered at her dark glare, maybe he was the one who had drugged her and brought her in.

"I wouldn't want to risk putting good weapons in the hands of this kind of scum." She opened her eyes wide and thrust her hands in the air, as if she was about to attack. The pirates all ducked. Kamo fell off his chair.

"Get to the bottom of this Hatake-san, find out what that white-haired bitch was involved with, and why shinobi are disappearing off the streets and out of the trees. My only brother's been gone for more than three months, and unlike me, he's the most loyal ninja in Cloud." Without another word she disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke.

Getting into the dock took a lot less time than Kakashi had expected, obviously The Mermaid was well known in these waters, and _no one_ wanted to get in her way. Less then three hours after first dropping anchor the unusual party, two ninjas, a monk and a pirate, was leaving the ragged outskirts of Port Koizuko and heading out into the open desert. They traveled much more slowly than Kakashi had on his own, and it was clear to the other three that the boss was slowing them down the most. True, they'd given him the job of carrying the two shovels from on board the ship, the ones used to bury the boxes in the first place. But he still seemed to be dragging his feet, as if he was waiting for something… or someone.

Kakashi walked alongside him, followed by Sampo, with Iruka bringing up the rear. The pirate didn't have the smell of blood that everyone associated with the blood mist seemed to be surrounded by, like a miasma. So maybe he wasn't part of it directly. But then neither did Iruka, at least not yet. However Kakashi knew better than to trust him. He was still pretty sure that there was more to this little exchange of favours than met the eye.

As they journeyed deeper into the sands, to where the dunes drifted in their slow parody of the ocean waves they superficially resembled, Kakashi changed their course abruptly to the east. The boss scurried to catch up with him. Waving the GPS device that he'd been using as a reference.

"Where the hell are you going? You'll take us miles out of our way."

"Avoiding Scorpion Gang territory, unless that's where you wanted to go?" He watched the other man's reaction closely.

"Damn. Yes, those stupid thieves. Good thinking, I'd forgotten about them. Though from what I've heard on the grapevine it'll be a while before they forget about you, eh? But you're right, best to avoid a fight if we can."

His relief seemed genuine. So _that _wasn't the trap, but Kakashi was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun had tracked most of the way to the western horizon when the boss halted them.

"Ok ninja boy. We're pretty close, I think it's about time you made good on your part of the bargain."

Kakashi looked at him thoughtfully, while Sampo and Iruka watched with a mixture of curiosity and dread. Then he set down his pack and pulled out a blank paper and a pencil.

"Fair enough."

It didn't take him long to sketch out a surprisingly detailed map. Complete with compass points, notations for distinctive landmarks, and a big X marking the spot. As soon as he was done the Boss snatched it and looked it over.

"Damn, you've got some good memory."

Iruka shook his head sadly, so kakashi was going through with this. When he'd promised to show the boss where he could find his old victim, he had actually been telling the truth. "You have no idea."

Meanwhile Kakashi took Sampo aside and whispered in his ear. "Wait here Sam. If we're not back by sunrise, go on to Konoha without us. Tell them everything you know."

The monk nodded, lowered himself to the ground and started to set up his incense.

The pirate watched him prepare and snorted derisively. Then he kissed his paper, rolled it up, and tucked it into an inside pocket. "Well whoever's coming with me had better come, because I plan to leave on the morning tide."

However if he was in a hurry, it didn't make him quicken his pace as he led them further north into the desert. It was hot , damned hot. Kakashi wished he could pull down his mask. Sweat was running down his neck under it and adding to the wetness soaking through his shirt. Before he had been worried that Iruka had no armour, but now he envied him.

The sun baked dunes stretched to the horizon in every direction, decorated by little dancing eddies of sand where the hot breeze met hotter air rising up their slopes. Finally the boss halted them, checked with his GPS tracker then turned to face them.

"Ok, this is it, just the other side of this big one here."

But they could tell that they were too late as soon as they crested the dune. Two open pits scared the desert floor, already worn to smoothness by the gentle but constant wind.

Iruka stared in horror. "What…"

Kakashi couldn't even bring himself to be surprised that he wasn't surprised. He turned to their guide.

"They knew we were coming didn't they. That old sennin knows exactly where we are, from the blood. There's no way you would have risked your neck pissing them off by bringing us here otherwise."

Iruka felt his blood boil. The damn cocky evil bastard had tricked them. Even tricked Kakashi! He spluttered in fury as he held the point of a kunai at the pirate's throat. Despite his best efforts to keep his words slow and measured they still came out as a yell.

"Hand over that map you… before I take it from your gutted corpse.

"No Iruka. Let him go." Kakashi's voice was softer than the breeze blowing over the sand, but it seemed to resonate through the whole desert.

It was too much. Iruka turned his fury on the man standing slouched beside him. He was sure that he could see a half smile under the mask. And for a moment Kakshi felt a shiver of true fear, he almost believed that he was about to be torn limb from limb.

"Kakashi? You can't be serious! You'll let him take back that boy and rape him every night?"

"It wasn't rape. Not the way you mean. Let him go. A promise is a promise."

The pirate boss smirked. His sadistic streak had been roused and he wasn't about to let the opportunity pass to cause some pain. Especially to these two. It wouldn't feel as good as the kind of pain he'd like to subject them both to, but it would do.

Iruka was sill red faced but he seemed deflated, defeated. The boss stared him down as he addressed Kakashi.

"So you promise that this here map will lead me to someone who can tell me where to find Gep."

Kakashi's voice was as calm and neutral as ever. "Yes. It's on the very edge of Cloud Country, I met up with someone there who knows Gep's village very well."

"And you're sure this person will still be there?"

"As sure as anyone can be."

"So who was it? So I can track them if I need to."

"His cousin, she grew up with him. She was hiding out in a cave there, with her husband. The last time I saw them they didn't look as if they would be going anywhere anytime soon."

The pirate looked deep into the single blue eye. He knew enough about ninjas to know that they couldn't be trusted, but still, he could see nothing but the honest plain truth in it.

He turned back towards the port. "Well good luck with your hunt… I suppose."

They watched him go until he was nothing more than a wavering outline against the sky and an elongated black shadow on the dunes.

"Is it true kakashi? Will he really find that boy's cousin where you said?"

Kakashi pulled down his mask and smiled. "Yep, he'll find her there. Of course he _can_ ask her where Gep is, but I'm pretty sure she won't tell."

Iruka's voice had lost all its volume. Coming out as something between a croak and a whisper. "He'll torture her, you must realise that!"

The copy nin shrugged casually. "Won't do him any good. She'd been dead for several days when I left, and that was… two or three weeks ago."

He saw the blow coming easily, but let Iruka hit him anyway. It connected with the back of his head and sent him flying across the sand.

When he rolled over Iruka was crouched above him on all fours. "Damn you Kakashi." He raised his hands to the sky as if in supplication. "Putting me through all that. I swear, if I didn't love you so much…"

Iruka grabbed the other man's face and pulled it up to his, to kiss him… hard. Kakashi let himself melt into it, enjoying it for everything it represented, an expression of this beautiful passionate man's overwhelming passions. He really was a damned lucky bastard.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N Sorry if this isn't up to standard. Didn't have much chance for editing. I picked up an especially vicious little virus on my computer and it's taken almost a week to weasle it out. BTW that's also why this chapter is late---sorry.


	20. Chapter 20

The two Konoha ninjas examined the holes in the desert floor. And the broken wood boxes. Kakashi pricked a finger on the tip of a needle, scowling. He'd risked Iruka for this?

"I'll send Jipushi ahead to Tsunade to tell her what we've found. He's got the speed and strength to cross the desert but he can't communicate like Pakkun, so we'll have to be right behind him."

Even as he spoke a huge hound appeared beside them. Kakashi scribbled a note and tucked it into its collar, then watched as it took off at a run.

The splintered wood from the crates stuck out from the sand at odd angles, half in and half out of the holes. Looking abandoned and forlorn in its ugliness. Iruka kicked one over. "These are just an ordinary bombs aren't they? I mean they couldn't be nuclear warheads or anything."

Kakashi shook his head. "I can't smell anything here but steel and explosives. If they had uranium or plutonium I'd be able to pick out the ionisation of the air. And from the size of these packing cases they weren't big enough to have the kind of shielding that would stop them from leaking completely."

"I'll take your word for it." Iruka kicked at the sand too, frowning. "One thing I don't get is just how anyone could hope to bring a village the size of Konoha to its knees with a few conventional explosives. I mean they're nasty, but as you said, not big enough to destroy a whole building. _You _could do more damage with a simple earth jutsu, even Sakura could."

"Yes and no. A bomb is an explosion, a sudden release of energy. Any kind of energy… including chakra. If there was an explosion in the mission room, in the heart of Konoha, anyone there would instinctively release chakra. And that would almost certainly include a few jounins."

"Are you saying that would… feed it?"

"Exactly. Chakra is positive energy, it wouldn't suppress an explosion, it would multiply it, to make the most powerful chakra bomb you can imagine. Using our jounins as fuel and destroying them at the same time. The bombs that were hidden here are just the fuses."

Iruka's eyes flashed wide open. "Kakashi, call back your dog. Now!"

The copy nin looked at him in surprise.

"Don't you see? If the Hokage gets your message that bombs are being smuggled into the village she'll call an emergency… she'll stop sending people out on missions."

Kakashi did see. He sliced open all four fingers of his left hand in his haste to call back and realease his summon. The great lurcher appeared at his side still in mid gallop, turned its head to give him the most bewildered look possible on a canine face, then poofed away in a cloud of chakra smoke.

Its master sank to his knees on the hot sand, his thoughts racing through the possibilities. "And if none of the jounins are out of the village they're more likely to be hanging out in the mission room. They could all be wiped out with one blast… and because of them that blast could wipe out the Hokage tower and most of the centre of the village with it."

Iruka knelt beside him, took his hand and gently licked at the liquid oozing from the slits on his fingertips. It was a simple gesture of comfort, but as his tongue made contact, all gentle thoughts vanished.

He'd tasted his lover's blood before, kissing wounds to bless them into healing faster, licking lips split from the dry desert or cold mountain air, soothing skin chaffed to bloody sores by armour worn for too many days, or too many weeks. But it had never tasted like this. It was strong and heady, like a powerful drug that set every nerve in his body on fire. Like life. Kakashi's life. Powerful, exciting, dangerous, the light at the centre of his universe.

He sucked and swallowed, probing with his tongue for every last drop as the flow slackened and stopped. Suddenly, it wasn't enough, he wanted more. He wanted Kakashi. Wanted him in every way that one human could want another. Grabbing the other hand he pressed their palms together, then pushed harder, collapsing his lover onto the sand beneath them, grinding his hips into him. He was rock hard, pulsing with the flow of his own blood as it throbbed through his body. Kakashi stared up at him, seeing need so bright that it almost hurt to look at it.

"Iruka, I'm sorry, not now. We have to find Sam and get back to Konoha. We don't have time to stop… not for anything."

Iruka slowly pulled himself to his feet, blushing fiercely. "Of course. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Sadly kakashi was almost sure that he did.

They found Sampo exactly where they had left him. Finishing his final cycle of prayers.

Kakashi tossed him a ration bar. "Gotta go. Eat on the run. It will be dark before long but it should be a clear night. We'll make good time."

Iruka held back. "You should go without me, I'll follow with Sam. You'll be much faster on your own, and they can track me can't they? I'll give away your position."

"No, out of the question. I still have to get you home. And it doesn't matter, they know we'll go straight back to report. That's why they left the boxes for us to find."

It took Sampo less than a minute to gather his things, then they set out at a run through the cooling air. Before long it seemed that Kakashi had been wrong in his prediction for a clear night. The wind picked up lashing them with biting sand as great swirling clouds of dust obscured the sun, darkening the evening sky until it seemed as if night had already fallen. They had been on the move less than an hour when the sandstorm became so fierce that they were forced to slow their movement to a crawl.

Kakashi swore under his breath. Interference already. He'd hoped he would get close enough to Konoha to send Iruka on ahead with Sam before something like this happened.

He heard Iruka's voice over the howling wind. There's a shelter of some kind, a tent. Let's get inside until the worst of this passes."

"Iruka no! Don't trust it!"

But he knew that it was already too late. Finding an opening in the large black shape looming through the brown clouds of dust and sand, he stepped inside. Sampo followed close behind.

They stood in the doorway, wiping grit from their eyes. It was bright, but with no obvious source of illumination, and sumptuously furnished like a fantasy from the Arabian Nights. Except for a low table that seemed quite out of place in its plain simplicity. A lone man was seated there, on an elabourately patterned rug, drinking tea. He wore a dark blue robe spotted with stars.

"Gentlemen, I've been expecting you. Won't you join me?" The voice was familiar.

In a move as fluid as falling water, Kakashi knelt down, reached across the table, and brushed aside the man's black silken hair so that he could see the eyes half-hidden beneath. Uchiha eyes, identical to the jet-black orbs that had stirred so many emotions so long ago. They captured him, captivated him, as they had back then. He took a deep breath, disguising it as a thoughtful pause, as he smoothed his chakra seamlessly and re-trained his focus. Black eyes were his past, brown eyes his present… and his future.

The cool breeze of reason cleared the cobwebs from his brain. Long black hair, spooky eyes.

"Itachi? So you're wearing stars now. Were clouds too sunny for you, or have you changed your allegiance again?"

His cool reason foundered on the other's icy indifference. "Mmm, perceptive. It's still the sky. I suppose you could say that this is my… dark side." A momentary flash of crimson brightened the black.

The reaction wasn't lost on the copy nin. So maybe it wasn't indifference. Maybe the jagged edges of the ice were keeping another emotion at bay. "You were the one who gave the Mermaid pirate that ship. The one who's been collecting ninjas."

Itachi sighed, there was a hint of disappointment in his voice, or was it just a mocking imitation of disappointment. "All business? For a moment I thought… " His grim down-turned mouth flattened to a neutral line, but resisted twitching up into a smile. "But _I'm_ not the one you were remembering, am I? It was another Uchiha, the one who died for you. And before his death _you_ didn't have the same power to remember. But I do, I _always_ have."

Kakashi's agile mind started to reach back, then balked. Uchiha Obito. That well of pain, guilt and grief, he was his greatest strength and his greatest failing. Had he met Itachi back then? Before? Despite his bitter rivalry with his teammate, the rambling Uchiha clan had always reached out to him, openly urging Obito to invite the genius Hatake orphan into their wider family.

And if he _had_ met Itachi, had he slept with him?

Surely not, they were both too young, neither of them could have been more than eleven or twelve, although he had become unusually promiscuous unusually early. Living alone, with no family to guide him. Always poised on the razor-edge between survival and death that came from his too violent existence. The young Kakashi had very quickly discovered that sex was the only thing that had enough intensity to come close to providing the same satisfaction.

Then somewhere, far underneath, he felt a bright flicker of… something. Silky black hair sliding through his fingers, a hard boyish body under his, eyes blacker than the blackest sin that even they would witness. And overwhelming simultaneous orgasms, so powerful that they had both almost fainted. His first? Their first?

He blinked, but just once. No. Itachi was using a sharingan trick, he had to be. If…and it was a big if, the memory was real it must have been Obito, not Itachi. Only that could explain why he'd suppressed it.

Itachi's cold smooth voice felt like a whisper of seduction in his ear as he continued, "The Atakzuki are rich and powerful. Nothing is beyond our reach."

Kakashi didn't allow his composure to fail for even the tiniest fraction of a second. He stared at a sylised bird woven into the carpet near his hand. Or was it a fish. He preferred his art straightforward and easily recognisable, real life so seldom was. Then curved his eye into its familiar smile. "I'm sure you are, but what the hell do you want with me? A barely suitable host for an Uchiha eye?"

Itachi wasn't quite as fast in smothering a hint of… regret? "Very well, I'll be all business too. Our mutual old friend Orochimaru is starting to get in our way. We need a distraction to keep him busy. And, of course, he has a village behind him now."

At last, something that made sense. "You want to establish a Ninja village in Wave Country, on Wolf Island. Using the power of the blood mist."

"No. I plan to take over an already well-established village, one that I know quite well. And one that Orochimari has always felt he has some kind of claim on."

"Konoha!"

"It's ripe for picking. With the police force gutted since the er, 'fall' of the Uchiha clan, the centres of the village are Hokage tower and the academy. Such a foolish arrangement, expecting the academy teachers to work in the mission room too. It gives chuunins far too much knowledge, defense plans, strengths and weaknesses. Mine's a little out of date."

Kakashi kept his anger locked so deep within that not even the sharingans would detect it. So he'd been right about Iruka. "Why are you telling me this?

"The blood of the wolf. You overcame my clan's blood limit but somehow I can't come to grips with yours."

"There _is _no blood limit in the Hatake clan, there never has been."

"No not exactly, but you have the blood of the wolf. You have the potential for any number of Wolf blood limits. But you don't have to believe me, ask the abbot here. He's been researching them for me, for some time."

Sampo let out a long breath. "I'm sorry Kaka-kun. I had no idea. Supporting the shrine and its good work by researching stuff I'd have paid to have the chance to do. I should have known it was too good to be true."

Itachi glared in his direction, through his hair, eyes spinning. "Shut up monk."

The abbot sat back onto the sand in dazed silence as Itachi turned his attention back to the other man. "He did a good job. Led me to Ketsuekimusha and the Succubus girl. Between them I'd have got everything… if you hadn't interfered."

He sipped at his tea and let the silence between them stretch painfully.

"You killed my little recruit but you'd be a good replacement. You see it takes someone with the blood to activate the blood jutsu. And, as I believe I just said, _you_ have the blood."

"So?"

"You've proven yourself more powerful than we had… anticipated. Ever wanted to be Hokage Hatake? You're a natural choice. Chuunin at six, Jounin at thirteen, Konoha's number one ninja. I can't believe it's never crossed your mind."

"You… you want me to join you? Join the Akatzuki? On the basis of some old legend?" Kakashi felt sick, as if there was a ball of something especially nasty knotted in his stomach. He knew _exactly_ what Itachi had done to be considered 'worthy' of membership in that particular club.

"No." The word sounded light, as if he was smiling, but he wasn't. "We have Iruka-sensei. We have his blood. Nothing short of his death can change that. It's only a matter of time before he spills all of Konoha's secrets. Even if he fights it to the death we'll be able to get what we need first. You would be more of an… associate."

Or a lackey.

"We'll find someone else to be Hokage if we need to. But it won't be someone who cares for Konoha the way you do. Or who gives a fuck about Iruka-sensei, alive or dead."

Against every instinct Kakashi kept his heart rate slow and steady. So he knew about Iruka. Of course he did, he was in league with the sennin, he must know everything. "You plan to use Iruka's life to blackmail me?"

Itachi finally smiled. On his stoic face it was so out of place and so startling that Kakashi couldn't imagine him with a more frightening expression.

"No. That was never part of our plan. Even I didn't anticipate getting hold of someone you held so dear. And I think I understand you rather better than the old man. I have no doubt that you're loyal enough to sacrifice him to save Konoha, the way you sacrificed my cousin. I want to give you something, not take. The blood mist power. You see I have blood, Ketsuekimusha's blood, and I want to give it to _you_. The power to control the thoughts and intent of those around you. All but the strongest. We'll take care of those separately. You have the blood of the wolf in your veins already. I'll give you the blood limit that goes with it. I'm offering you the power to save Konoha from Orochimaru and his followers. Again."

Itachi pulled an elaborately carved cylinder from his sleeve, snapped off the end and tipped it so that a syringe filled with dull red liquid rolled onto the table. Kakashi eyed it carefully but didn't move.

"You want to start a war between Sound and Leaf, but you'll give us what we need to hold our own. To make sure the war goes on for a very long time."

"War is unavoidable. I'll just help you control the timing. Better now before Orochimaru gets even stronger. And he has my baby brother, you _know_ that you don't have long."

"And what if I find the old man and kill him? Cut off the blood jutsu at its source?" Kakashi was sure it couldn't be that simple, but he had to ask.

Itachi laughed, not the cold cruel sound Kakashi would have expected, but filled with genuine amusement. Somehow it was even more disturbing. "Then Iruka-sensei dies, every innocent we have within the jutsu dies. No one can live without blood."

This simple conversation was proving more exhausting than the fiercest battle. "And how many innocents is that?"

The Uchiha's eyes flashed red again. "Enough to get the job done."

Kakashi lashed out and the other man's head spun across the tent spraying an arc of crimson. His body quivered then slumped. It had been dead for days and was wearing the uniform of sand. It's severed head rolled over the smooth pile of the carpet and came to come to rest at Kakashi's feet. As he'd expected the headband tied around its yellow hair was unmarked.

Damn cowards. Even now hiding behind those they'd used and destroyed.

The tent and its furnishings disintegrated into twinkles of nothing and melted into the clear air around them. There was no sign of the storm. Now Kakashi could see where Iruka was lying on the sand, as still and silent as death, shrouded in red mist.

Kakashi took one of Sampo's hands in both of his, pulling the monk to his feet and out of his stupor in the same move. "Don't blame yourself Sam. If Itachi wanted to find out about the Ookami's badly enough, he would have eventually in any case."

Despite the copy nin's calm controlled voice, Sampo wasn't fooled. He could see the shine of unshed tears in his eyes and feel the vibration of the tremor in his grip. He spread his fingers and folded them over Kakashi's palms so that the Kakashi's hands were within his, looking small and delicate, almost like a woman's by comparison.

Without another thought he pulled Kakashi's body against him, hugging him close, wracked with guilt for enjoying the contact at a time like this. There was hot breath in his ear as Kakashi started to tremble from head to toe.

"There must be some way to remove this jutsu. It's Iruka Sam."

Sampo's grief had layers worthy of a ninja. "I know Kaka-kun, I know."

He held the other man folded into the hollow of his huge body, desperate to bring him some kind of comfort. Hatake Kakashi. His dearest childhood friend, his idol, his obsession. The man who would never return his love, breaking apart for the sake of another man.

"I wish I could help, but I don't know anything about these arts. We're martial monks. But maybe… He hesitated for a moment, then pulled away enough to take something from an inner fold of his robe. A box of matches.

Sampo blushed fiercely, his face and bald head turning scarlet under their tan. "I have a hair from the mother of the Ookami clan. I took it from her tomb. Maybe she wanted me to, or maybe I just wanted it and I'm making excuses for myself. But perhaps I can use it to summon her."

Kakashi looked at him with a mixture of suspicion and awe. "Sam, are you saying you know how to summon spirits?"

"In theory. I'm willing to try… if you are. Surely _she_ will know how to break a blood limit jutsu from her line."

Kakashi looked over to Iruka, he'd moved at last, and was lying on his back and apparently sleeping peacefully. He nodded to Sampo. "Let's do it."

The layer of fine sand deposited by the storm seemed to be a perfect medium for setting up the circle. And Sampo's skill and dexterity in using it to form the shapes and signs of the mantra seemed to contradict his claim to lack expertise.

It took a long long time, but Kakashi was patient. Endlessly still and endlessly patient. Glancing up occasionally to make sure that Iruka was still sleeping, and monitoring his chakra constantly for anything out of the ordinary.

Eventually it was ready. Sampo set a match to the cluster of incense sticks he'd stuck into a mound of sand at the centre of the circle, then blew them out so that a stream of fragrant smoke rose up in a sinuous stream. The smoke didn't dissipate. It formed a white cloud, hovering within the enclosing charms a few feet from the ground. He dropped the single white hair onto it and the cloud took on the form of a lean white wolf. It rose on its hind legs and changed shape again, to become a beautiful white haired woman, pale skinned, amber eyed. Wearing a court kimono from another age, splattered with red flowers and edged in white fur.

She turned towards Kakashi. "My child? Son? You've grown up to be so beautiful, let me see your whole face."

He felt time and space spinning around him, winding his reality into a tight coil. But despite the dizziness it caused he stepped forward and pulled down his mask, then straightened his headband, but kept the sharingan tightly closed. The wolf mother stretched out a pale slender arm from the draped silk of her sleeve, as if to stroke his cheeks and jaw.

He heard Sampo's voice floating towards him, like a leaf riding the ripples on the surface of a pond. Hardly more than a whisper in the thick air, but with a resounding note of urgency. "Kakashi, don't break the circle, if you do who knows what could cross from the spirit world."

Kakashi nodded and opened his eye. Now he could see the edge, the line separating the dimensions. "Ookami-hime? Wolf Princess? Wolf… Mother?"

He raised his hand, flattening his palm against the barrier that would be invisible to anyone else. The wolf woman raised her hand in response on the other side, so close that the distance between them could be measured in molecules. Kakashi could feel her heat and smell her musky scent through the perfume of the incense.

"You look so much like your father. Except your eyes, you have a stranger's eyes."

"Wolf Mother, please forgive us, we called you here to ask for your help. How can I break the blood jutsu, the power of the blood of the wolf, of your blood?"

She bit her lip and shook her head slowly, so that her long white hair rippled around her shoulders. "The blood of the wolf isn't mine, it's from the wolf demon Makami. I went to him for help, for a jutsu forbidden by man and by wolves. But he betrayed me. Instead of using the blood to make me human he tried to use it to make humans the slaves of the wolves. In my greed for more than I could have, I let my blood become tainted."

Kakashi could feel pressure, like an impossible weight, squeezing his heart and his lungs. "Someone I love is tainted now too. Can I remove it before its power destroys him?"

She turned to look at him with the same fixed stare he'd seen in the eyes of the old sennin. "The death of the blood host will destroy the jutsu, but those within the jutsu will not survive. Only the blood host can take back the blood. That's as much as I know."

She didn't break the stare but something in her eyes seemed to soften. "If there's another way you must find it for yourself. The blood is powerful, but remember that love is a great power too. Even love like mine that defied the laws of men, of wolves, and of nature. I wish I had understood human love sooner, realised that love was all I'd ever needed to become human, before I made my reckless bargain."

Kakashi looked at the affection in her amber eyes, and the concern for him in her face. "You've succeeded Wolf Mother. I fell more humanity from you than from most humans."

She smiled, turned away from him, and was gone.

"Did she speak to you, did she answer your question?" It took a moment for Kakashi to realise that it was Sampo who was asking.

"Er, yes. You didn't hear?"

The monk shook his head. "All I saw was a shadow in the smoke. She came here to talk to you, not me."

Kakashi was painfully aware of the sadness in his voice. He knew that Sampo must feel that the Wolf Mother had rejected his devotion, just as he had himself.

"Go home Sam. Go back to your shrine and train your monks. It looks as if we might need a safe place to stay near the border with Hidden Sound very soon." He intertwined their fingers, keeping the other man at arms length as he looked at him fondly.

"Got enough food and water?"

The monk nodded.

"Know the way from here?"

The monk glanced towards the ridge of hills on the darkening eastern horizon and nodded again.

He leaned closer, taking in the scent of incense, day old sweat, and the warm waxy odour that was pure Sampo. "You're very special to me Sam, you _do_ know that don't you?"

Then he stretched to claim the abbot's mouth in a deep lingering kiss, hooking his hands behind the thick column of his neck, using his lips and tongue to show the full extent of his affection in ways that words never could. By the time Sampo opened his eyes Kakashi was kneeling over his precious chuunin a hundred feet away. He sighed and set off towards the east.


	21. Chapter 21

Kakashi stayed at Iruka's side all night. Silent and still, but with chakra enhanced alertness. The tension within the pale man, watching over the darker one, who seemed stiller yet, would have been clear to even the most casual observer. Except that here, in the heart of the desert, in the dead of night, there were no observers. Not so much as a single stray lizard.

He couldn't resist a wry smile at the irony of the situation. This was exactly what he had longed for so many times. To be out in the field with his sweet lover, under the great black dome of sky, with nothing and no one to interrupt for hundreds of miles. For despite his longing, he dare not touch him. Somehow he was sure that he should not risk awakening Iruka from Itachi's jutsu. The copy nin felt his jaw clench tight with worry and frustration, he knew from hard experience just how painful and dangerous they could be. So he passed the night watching the play of moonlight and starlight on Iruka's skin. The flutters and ripples in his hair as it was toyed with by the unrelenting desert wind. But mostly he watched the passing expressions on his face as he dreamed. They seemed to be happy dreams at least, and he was glad for that small blessing.

The sun was already climbing into its arc across the southern sky when Iruka's eyes opened. He looked around as if he wasn't sure where he was. In truth he wasn't. The winds that had blown through the night had rearranged the perfect symmetry of the dunes into massive smooth bulges. Like a body in the morgue covered by a tan canvas sheet. Only the mountains on the eastern horizon looked the same.

He sat up abruptly, but before Kakashi could register his relief, he'd been grabbed with the ferocity of a predatory animal. Kakashi's whole being wanted to shout with joy, as he felt the tiny spark of fear that Iruka's anger always provoked. But Iruka wasn't angry and he didn't shout at him. He kissed him, plunging his tongue into his mouth with the same desperation that he's shown the day before. And this time Kakashi was more than willing. After a long night of keeping his distance he needed this too. He pulled closer, responding to the kiss, pulling his lover onto him, ever mindful of his scarred back as he rolled onto the sand. When lack of oxygen eventually forced him to break away, he tugged off his headband and threw it aside. If there was the slightest risk that he could lose this man then he wanted to save every moment that they still had together. Save it and keep it forever.

For Iruka reality was merging seamlessly with his dream. Kakashi kissing him, holding him, loving him. But as he tilted his chin to take up where they'd left off, he felt a presence behind his eyes, looking into the copy nin's mismatched blue and red. He felt a hand within his hand stroke the perfect line of his partner's jaw and trace a path down to land on the tense muscles of his belly. The hand's eventual target twitched in eager anticipation against his thigh and he felt a smirk from deep inside.

HE shuddered and shoved Kakashi back and away.

"No! Don't touch me! He's enjoying this, enjoying you. It's the old sennin. He can feel you through my blood, feel your hands on me, and mine on you."

Kakashi lay gasping next to him, his pale skin blanched to paper whiteness. "What are you saying? You mean I can't make love to you? Please Iruka I need you, forget about him, this is about us. The two of us, here, now, together."

Iruka could feel hot tears leaking from his eyes. "You don't understand. He's here too, inside me. He feels what I feel, sees what I see, and I won't share you, especially not with him."

As Kakashi looked closely he could see him too. The wolf's long hard stare, deep within Iruka's soft brown eyes. He reached for his headband and retied it as he rose to his feet and turned away, trying hard not to scream.

"Come on then. We need to keep moving anyway."

Iruka stood up behind him, reading his pain from the stiffness in his slouched shoulders. He reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulders, but then thought better of it and let the arm fall back to its place by his side. Now was as good a time as any, there could be no 'right time' for what he was about to say.

"Kakashi, there's something I want to ask, will you promise me something? A big something?"

Kakashi turned around but avoided his eyes. "Of course, anything. You know that."

A small, strangled catch in the teacher's throat made him startle. Suddenly all his attention was on the other man with the focus and intensity of a high powered laser.

"If… if I lose it. If the blood takes over, promise that you won't let me become a tool to that monster. Just thinking that he might use me to hurt someone I love is more… more than I can stand. If that happens, if I lose control and can't get it back, promise that you'll kill me."

They stood facing each other as the mid-morning heat beat down on them, for what could have been a few minutes, or an eternity.

A small puffy cloud passed across the sun, darkening them with its shadow. Kakashi scowled at it then cupped Iruka's face in his hands and stared into his beautiful brown eyes. "I promise."

Iruka put his hands over the other man's and broke his gaze by slowly shaking his head. "Liar."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jiraiya was puzzled.

It was an unfamiliar, even shocking, feeling for the great Toad Hermit. A rank he'd accomplished without the advantage of a blood line limit, or of genius like his famous student Yellow Flash. Of course he had power, and guts, and cunning, no one other than his old teammates could match him in that. Although Sakumo's kid was moving up fast. But his greatest strength had always been his unwavering certainty, his ability to take in a situation at a single glance and just know. Refined by half a century of peeking and prying, it had made him the perfect spy.

So why couldn't he understand the chakra traces he was feeling around him now? They'd become increasingly stronger as he's moved further away from the village. Never more than ghostly hints, and never enough to allow him to catch more than a shimmer of sensation, and each one very slightly different, like the taste of apples from different trees growing in the same orchard. But distinctive none the less. It was demon chakra, and it definitely wasn't Naruto. The Kyuubi was only too familiar. Both in the unleashed fury that he could still feel seared into the landscape of Konoha, and the contained rage within the boy. No, it wasn't fox, but it was similar. A carnivore that liked to hunt, and liked to kill even more.

Something in it reminded him of Sakumo, and of Kakashi too, but it wasn't dog either. It was too distant, too unfriendly, more like a wolf than a dog. But there hadn't been any wolves in the forest in more than a century, and the last wolf demon he'd heard of, Makami or something like that, was just a legend. If he'd existed at all he'd gone to ground more than a thousand years ago. Of course foxes were renowned for their cunning, and wolves weren't far behind, and demons were just as famous for their patience. They could afford to be. So why was he picking up smudges of wolf demon? No… of people possessed by wolf demon? But at such low intensity that it barely registered. Surely if Makami was nearby every shinobi in the village would have felt it, and after their experience with the kyuubi they'd be running in the streets in panic. Naruto would be having a fit.

None of this made any sense at all.

As if that wasn't enough there was something else that was making him just as uneasy. In his decades of wandering he'd learned to recognise the distinctive tang imprinted on each ninja's energy by their village's signature jutsus. When he's set out on this mission he'd expected to be able to tell from that alone where this new threat was coming from. But in the chakra residues lingering in the trees, he could feel every one of them. Was there a massive alliance of all the other villages against Konoha? And if so, why was the chakra so weak, nothing beyond that of genins and chuunins? No one would send a team without at least one jouninon a serious spying mission.

As he reached a large oak the Toad Hermit felt the unmistakable sensation of water, the touch of a Mist nin, whereas not ten yards back he'd felt Sand. He rested the palm of one massive hand against the rough bark and breathed deeply. The tree was bigger than the others around it, shading out the growth of underbrush beneath. And unlike most of the trees it was still holding onto most of it's leaves, although they had long since turned dry and russet brown, whispering like conspirators against him in the gusts of November breeze. The nin had probably spent a night sheltered in the oak's branches, no more than a week or two ago, watching and spying, just as he would have done. So where was he now? And why oh why, did he carry this taint of demon with him?

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Team Gai had returned to Konoha to find themselves promptly sidelined. So now, a few days later, they were in a corner of a training field, apparently along with almost every other Konoha genin, chuunin and jounin. It seemed that every ninja in the village was out training, like in the last week before a major tournament. They were relying on Neiji to keep them safe from the constant hail of projectiles, Tenten was sharpening her pile of weapons and Lee was stretching.

"I still think we should go back out there and look for Gai-sensei." He grunted between two sets of double back flips.

Tenten searched out a clean spot on her rag and dipped it into the metal polish. "The whole village is in a state of emergency, no one's allowed to go anywhere."

"And that's exactly why we need to find him. If something bad happens we'll all be a whole lot better off with Sensei here than without him." Lee coiled his body into a fighting stance.

"Maybe he got new orders, from a bird, like we did before."

Neiji moved his head almost imperceptibly, to adjust the position of his blind spot. "Jiraiya-sama knows something. I could see it when he asked about him. I just don't think that he knows that he knows yet."

Just then an orange blur barreled into them, trapping Neiji under him and sending the other two flying with the combined chakra blast from the impact. Damn, wouldn't you know it? If he'd moved a moment later he'd have seen him coming.

"Oh ha, sorry guys. Guess my control's off a bit. I've got too much energy, been cooped up for days sorting through scrolls."

Neiji sat up and ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it down. He looked at Naruto coolly. "You know I can do something about that overactive chakra of yours if you like."

"Uh? No, that's ok. We just came to see if you want to come to Ichiraku's with us for dinner. We're all going over there. The owner's making a whole big pot of pork ramen, just for us, for free. To thank us for working so hard to protect the village."

Tenten laughed. So even the civilians were getting antsy from the uncertainty hanging in the air like an axe about to fall. "Well he wasted his money. Ichiraku's is the last place in the country that you'd let an enemy destroy."

Naruto grinned his foxy grin. "Guess you're right about that." Then his smile faded. "I just wish Iruka-sensei was here to share it with us. Kakashi-sensei too I suppose."

Tenten reached up to put her arm around his shoulder, and it seemed such a short time ago that she'd had to reach down. "Still no word from them?"

Lee sparkled as he sprang to his feet. "Maybe they're on a mission with Gai-sensei. The three greatest sensei's in Konoha, united together, undefeatable, strength genius and… and…." Somehow monumental bad temper didn't seem to fit.

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura said that the old lady is really worried about them both. She likes Iruka-sensei a lot. Kakshi-sensei too, more than she lets on."

Neiji might have looked at him… or maybe he didn't. "That's right. I bet Sakura knows everything that goes on in the Hokage tower."

As if on cue, Sakura came panting up to them, red-faced, with irritation and embarrassment as much as with exertion. It had only taken Naruto a couple of seconds to get out of her sight, and she was supposed to be watching over him.

Neiji looked at her too… or again maybe not. "So, Sakura-chan. You're Hokage-sama's apprentice. Surely you can tell us what this emergency is all about?"

She glanced quickly at Naruto and giggled nervously. "Er no, not really. I think it's mostly a precaution. I expect she picked up some rumours and doesn't want to risk getting caught off guard again, like we did two years ago."

Naruto twitched his whisker marks into a smile. "Yeah, Baabaa-sama over reacts to everything."

Inner Sakura sighed with relief. Despite her years with Kakashi-sensei she'd never mastered the art of telling lies. But as she'd hoped, Naruto at least seemed to be straightforward enough to take what she said at face value. Although she knew there was no way in the world that she'd fooled Neiji.

Tenten gave her a suspicious glance too, as she scooped her weapons into two sturdy bags and gave one to each of her boys to carry. "Come on, let's eat Ramen. Will Shikamaru be there, I'd like to hear what he thinks of all this."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The storm clouds had thickened and darkened through the day, promising the kind of tumultuous downpour that only deserts seemed capable of, as if in overcompensation for their infrequency. Kakashi eyed them suspiciously. Maybe, just maybe, if they were lucky, the storm would hold off until the following day. He really wanted to keep moving through the night, and if it rained, in the dark that would be impossible.

He shivered as a blast of air from the incoming front stirred the sand around them. It was cool where they were sprawled, catching a few minutes much needed rest in the shadow of a dune, as they munched their unappetising rations. That's the way it was in the desert at this time of the year. Too cool in the shade but too hot in the sun, until the sun went down, then it would be cold everywhere. And always too dry, except when it rained, then it was much too wet.

"Come on Ruka, you good to go?"

He received a heart-stopping smile in response. It warmed his soul even though he could sense the strain behind it.

"With you Kakashi? To the ends of the Earth."

He tried hard to ignore the fatigue evident in the way Iruka pulled himself to his feet. He had been pushing the chuunin to his limit all day, and he wasn't about to stop. It would take genius beyond his to find a better balance between his obligation to get back to Konoha as soon as possible, and his need to get Iruka the kind of help only Tsunade could give.

Suddenly he was surrounded by something he couldn't ignore, the scent of blood.

Iruka must be in worse shape than he'd thought. He,d been clumsy enough to scrape the nails of his right hand over the back of his left as he stood up, leaving four scarlet lines. Instantly they were enveloped in mist. But that didn't make sense, not here, in the heart of the desert. It was too hot, and there wasn't enough moisture in the air to form mist, not yet. He looked more closely at the scratches in Iruka's hand. His big hairy hand.

Gai?

The large muscular jounin flashed his nice guy pose.

Now Kakashi was seriously confused. Why the hell was he in the middle of the desert with Gai? And holding his hand? He realised that his mask was down and moved to pull it up. But he didn't get a chance. The moment he let go Gai took off running.

Kakashi ran after him, catching up in a few strides. That didn't make sense either. Since when could he match Maitai Gai for speed so easily? He grabbed an arm and held the green beast from behind as he continued to struggle. Kakashi's brain reeled with confusion. Was it an illusion? He hitched up his headband to check. Even through the sharingan the bulky man looked the same. But Gai was surprisingly easy to subdue, too easy, more like a chuunin than one of the most powerful jounins in Konoha. He twisted his captive's arm behind his back and almost dropped it in surprise. The reddish mist was pouring out of the wounds on the back of his hand He yanked the hand higher and got a yelp of pain in response. The man he was holding relaxed immediately and slumped into him. He seemed smaller, slighter.

As the mist dissipated he could smell Iruka's hair and skin against his face.

"Kakashi?" The voice was small and breathless. "I'm sorry, I lost control and he took over. I didn't try to hurt you did I?"

"No I'm fine, really, just startled. I wasn't wearing my mask and I er, saw things."

"What things?"

"Well you looked… different." As he was speaking he pulled his mask back into place, trying to assess Iruka's reaction without making direct eye contact.

Iruka watched him smooth the fabric into place along his cheekbones. He took a step closer so that no more than a fraction of an inch separated their bodies. Kakashi could feel the moisture from his breath in the dry desert air.

He raised his hands to Kakashi's masked face, spreading tan fingers over white. "I can't bear it."

Iruka let himself collapse into the other man choking back emotion. "I can't touch you, I can't kiss you and now you'll have to wear that damn mask all the time to protect yourself from me. I won't even be able to look at you." His voice became a whisper. "I can't live like this."

Kakashi eased down his mask and kissed Iruka's forehead softly.

Iruka pulled away glaring at him. "No! Don't do that, I told you. Put that damn thing back in place."

He sank to his knees on the sand, gasping in rough breaths. Clawing at handfuls of the gritty substance, as if getting a grip on the sand would let him get some kind of grip on a reality that had become just as unstable.

When he spoke his voice was hoarse and broken. "If he wants to share my feelings then let him feel this."

Kakasi wanted nothing more than to hold him, comfort him, make soft noises in his ear and promise that everything would be alright. But he couldn't. Even he wasn't that good a liar. There was nothing he could do or say that would make any of this alright for either of them. He was losing control, not like Iruka in a big shattered mess, but one tiny crumb at a time. He pulled up his mask.

A moment later he felt a tiny ping against the metal of his forehead protector, a cool trickle down his brow and spreading dampness in the fabric over his nose.

His heart sank to new depths. It had started to rain.

Him.

"Come on Ruka, it's not so bad, I wear it all the time. When we're back home, and have this all straightened out, I'll be in your face so much that you'll be begging me to put it back on."

Iruka tried, really tried, to smile. But he just didn't have any smiles left in him.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N/ OMG. What have I done to the poor guys? No nookie until they find a cure, if ther is a cure, if they can get home. And what will they find when they get there? And if Iruka hadn't stopped him would Kakshi have found himself having sex with…. Gai? Aargh… need tissue… eyes starting to bleed.


	22. Chapter 22

Wind blown rain fell in great curtains, rippling the air with grey and splattering their legs and feet with wet sand. So it wasn't surprising that the two Konoha ninjas were almost on top of the change in the landscape by the time they noticed it. Up ahead the dunes dropped off to a flat scoop in the sand, obviously the bed of an ancient lake. Although right now the heavens seemed intent on reviving it to its former glory.

Kakashi squeezed Iruka's hand, signaling for him to stop. Although they hadn't spoken of it, he hadn't released his hold once since the 'Gai' incident. They both knew why. Then he peered into the pelting rain, estimating distance and trying to judge the depth of the pools and puddles forming on the lakebed. The only good thing that he could say about this weather was that at least he wasn't blinded by glare of the sun.

Right the sun. He now realised that it had already set. It wasn't easy to tell because the pewter dark clouds had been smothering it for hours. In fact the most obvious change was the drop in temperature, from unpleasantly cool to downright cold. Well at least that made his decision easy.

He blasted a hollow in the leeward side of a dune and led Iruka inside. It was shallow, more like a closet than a cave, but as deep as he dared without too much risk of it collapsing on them. The last thing he needed right now was to be covered in more sand. And at least it would keep them fairly dry and out of the wind.

"We'll sleep here. It will be dark soon and any progress we make in this weather won't be worth the effort. With any luck it will have cleared up by morning."

Inside the hollow it was even gloomier than out in the storm, and although there was no actual rain, the air was still saturated with moisture. Kakashi took off his jacket, it felt like lead with the weight from the water it had absorbed, and shivered at the loss of warmth.

"Strip and give me your clothes. I'll use a fire jutsu to dry them so we won't be too cold to sleep.

Iruka nodded, shedding large drops of water from his wet hair as he started to peel off his wetter shirt.

"Kakashi, I shouldn't need to tell you this but you'll have to tie me up tonight. Tight. He's probably better at getting out of ropes than I am, maybe better than you. And it won't be me untying them, you understand that."

Kakshi felt sick. Bondage was for fun and games, fooling around. Never serious enough that either of them couldn't get out with a flick of a wrist. "Ok if you think it's necessary. But I won't make it tight enough to hurt you."

"Iruka felt heat rising to his face, though God alone knew where from, his whole body was like ice. Wherever it was, it must have fueled his temper too.

"You'll damn well do what you have to whether it hurts me or not. I have no control when he takes over, no control at all. You think I'm willing to risk waking up in a pool of blood to find that I slit your throat while you were sleeping. You think I'm too stupid to have worked out why he did this to me? He wants to take over my brain so that he can pick through everything I know about Konoha, doesn't he? I didn't let myself be whipped unconscious without giving up a single word so that I could end up betraying my village anyway. You'll tie me just as tight as you know how, with chakra rope, and with a ward on it too. One that will knock me out or kill me if I get free."

Kakashi took a step back, cowering just very slightly. Thank the stars, it was his Iruka, he was still there. And yes, he'd do what he had to.

"There's another way, at this point maybe it's the best way." Kakashi reached for the jacket he'd just taken off and pulled a small scroll from the front pouch.

"Here, it's the seal I took of the Sound woman on the pirate ship. It should seal up the blood jutsu, but of course it will seal your chakra too."

"It's what?" Iruka snatched it out of his hand, uncurled it and slapped it against his bare chest.

"Aah yes he's gone. That awful feeling of someone sharing my body, sealed out, or sealed in, I don't care which. Do you have a roll of bandage?"

Kakashi stepped over to his pack, took out a roll of gauze and tossed it to him. Then watched as Iruka wound it around his body, carefully securing the seal in place. What he didn't notice was Iruka's cheeks slowly colouring again. First pink, then red, then something closer to purple. By the time he looked up he was back to full screaming fury mode.

"Dammit Kakashi, I can't believe you've had this with you the whole time. Why the hell didn't you use it right away? Have you any idea of what I've been going through?"

Kakashi recoiled at the new onslaught. "Iruka, it's not that simple. You don't know what it's like. You've never been without chakra, I have. I go through it every time I overuse this damn eye." He pulled up his headband to reveal the black on scarlet whirls of the sharingan. "We've both grown up using chakra, having it suddenly cut off is like losing an arm or a leg. It leaves you weak, helpless. I've had enough experience to adapt, a little, but you haven't."

He was lucky the sharingan was uncovered. It gave him time to see the blow without blocking as a reflex. Without the protective force of his chakra Iruka would have broken his hand.

Kakashi pulled down his mask, he wouldn't need it now, and rubbed at his bruised jaw, grinning from ear to ear. He'd considered repressing it, he knew it would only get him into worse trouble, but he just felt so damn happy.

Although he was slightly shorter, Iruka seemed to tower over him. "Damn pompous jounin. I'm also free… free of that horrible creep. Have you any idea what that means to me? Not everything is about being stronger, better. There are plenty of other things in life that are just as important you know."

He launched himself at the other man, diving his hands under his shirt, raking them over the cold firm flesh he found there. Sucking in great gasps of air like a man just saved from drowning

Kakashi went down, twisting so that he cushioned Iruka's fall, and to protect his damaged back from jarring. "Ruka…mmph… sand, wet sand…lurp… there's sand everywhere. Let me get my… aah… blanket."

His odd noises were caused by a tongue, not his own, that was being shoved halfway down his throat. "You bet there's sand everywhere. By the time I'm finished with you you'll have sand in places you had no idea sand could get."

"No please Ruka, I'm begging you. The blanket. Let me get the blanket. I really really hate sand."

Iruka pulled himself to his knees, then sat back on his haunches, narrowing his eyes to slits. He was impatient and shinobi rules be damned, he didn't care how much it showed. "Ok, get your blanket. I would have thought a jounin could handle some discomfort."

Kakshi stood up and pulled the blanket from his pack, then pouted as he carefully removed his sand crusted clothes. "I can if I have to, but I don't have to like it."

He watched as Iruka undressed too, brushing as much of the clinging sand off his body as he could with his hands. Then he was behind him in an instant, his arms around his heart. He tweaked his nipples then slid his fingertips down over the gauze wrappings, pausing to relish the thundering heartbeat he could feel echoing through tight abs. Then down further, to brush along the length of the hard hot organ they discovered there.

Iruka hissed at the contact and leaned back to whisper in his ear. "This is very important too. I want to prove that I'm yours, that no one else can have me."

Kakashi slowly closed one hand, feeling his own pulse quicken to match the hot throbbing he could feel in his palm. "You're too good to be true you know. I'll never really believe that this is mine."

Iruka turned to face him. "Believe it. That's what I hated most, the feeling that he could just take me away from you."

He reached to make their lips meet and kissed, but tenderly this time. In the half dark, anyone less observant than Sharingan Kakashi, might have missed the wicked sparkle in his eyes.

"So now that you've got your damn blanket… I'm cold." He rocked his hips so that their groins were ground into each other. "I've heard that rubbing two sticks together can make some heat."

00000000000000000000000000

Naruto grinned in satisfaction as he patted his full stomach.

"Now I know there's something _better _than ramen. Free ramen."

Sakura gave him a friendly cuff to the ear. "Yeah, for as often as _you_ ever pay your own way."

His whisker marks twitched into a happy grin. "Can't help it if everyone loves me."

Even Neiji spluttered at that. The kyuubi vessel may not be as universally hated as he once was, but he was still treated with about as much affection as a particularly nasty infectious disease by most of the village.

Naruto continued as if he hadn't noticed. 'Course Iruka-sensei's always been extra good to me, and I guess I did pretty good off Sasuske too… you know before…"

Sakura resisted the urge to hit him again… harder. Or maybe just grab hold of him and cry.

It was Tenten who broke the dismal tension. "So, Shikamaru. I've been meaning to ask. What's your take on this emergency? And did we tell you we ran into Jiraiya-sama in the forest on the way home? I don't really think it's a coincidence, do you?"

_That_ news was enough to make all the young ninja's stop eating and listen. Well all except Chouji.

Shikamaru took his time to consider. "I'm glad they've got enough sense to have someone good snooping around. My Dad's been doing patrol duties, he says that there's definitely something odd out there."

Ino stopped tracing little hearts in the water droplets that had gathered on her glass. "Really? My Dad didn't mention anything, what did he see?"

"Oh he didn't see anything. But he said that there were too many shadows."

"Too many shadows? What the hell does that mean?" They were all thinking it, but Naruto was the only one blunt enough to ask.

Neiji answered for him. "Sometimes, when you can't see what's there, it's still possible to see what's not there. Even when we mask our presence we still block the sun. We've been taught to hide our shadow within another shadow. In the forest it's easy because it's full of shadows, but a Nara would still notice the difference."

"You know my Dad said something too. "Chouji offered, around a mouthful of noodles. He said the forest smelled like the butcher's when he's cutting up pork chops."

Sakura stared him. "He could smell blood?"

"I guess, but not blood like from a wound. Meat. It smells cold, dead, there's a big difference."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Only one of the Akimichi clan would think of _that_ odour in terms of what was food and what wasn't. "So the real question is, who's out there, and what are they waiting for?"

Naruto stood up, slapping his hands on the counter loudly. "No! The _real_ question is… what the hell are we all going to do about it?"

Sakura's voice was so quiet that if everyone hadn't just fallen silent, they wouldn't have heard it at all. "Kakashi-sensei would know what to do."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes... again. "Kakashi-sensei does seem to at the centre of this doesn't he?"

In response to the puzzled looks from Naruto and Sakura he continued. "Well everyone in the mission room has been acting strange since you went off on that long mission with him. Then he went straight back out again on his own. Then as soon as he got back from that he went running off to find Iruka-sensei. Doesn't it seem as if someone is trying to keep him out of Konoha?"

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Nah, it's just a bunch of coincidences. Kakashi-sensei's just good. That's why he gets sent out so much. And Iruka-sensei's his friend, so of course he was worried when he found out there was something weird about that Island he went to."

Neiji may have rolled his eyes too, it was hard to tell. "Yeah right, friends. I think we all know why threatening Iruka-sensei is the easiest way to get Sharigan Kakashi involved."

Naruto scrunched his face as if he was thinking hard, but his eyes still registered a blank. "Well yeah, they're friends. Like we are. I'd do the same for you."

Neili edged away. "Hey don't even think about it fox-boy. No one's doing _that _to me."

Ino caught Sakura's eye and drew a heart pierced by an arrow on the counter with the pool of condensation. They both grinned as she wrote K+I in the middle. If there was one thing they could still agree on, it was that Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei made a _really_ cute couple.

Tenten stepped over and wiped off the heart with the palm of he hand. Sakura came to join them and the young women huddled with their arms over each other's shoulders, giggling like schoolgirls.

Naruto stared at the threesome with a look of gobsmacked incomprehension that could surely be seen nowhere else. "What the hell's got into _them_? Do you know Hinata?"

The shy Hyuuga turned crimson and bowed her head almost to her knees. Twisting away from him on her stool at the same time.

"God what is it with these women? Just because I said Kakshi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are really good friends."

That provoked another peel of laughter. Even Hinata was visibly shaking with the effort to control herself.

Shikamaru sighed. "Ignore them Naruto, they're just being troublesome. But I think you may be onto something useful with the idea of friends."

There was a sparkle from the far end of the counter as Lee flashed a smile. "Ah yes, friends. Gai-sensei is always saying that friends bring the warmth of sunlight and springtime into our lives."

Kiba scatched his constant canine companion, who took the opportunity to slurp the noodles from Shikamaru's bowl. "I know who my best friend is, don't I old buddy?"

For some reason the girls laughed even louder.

Shikamaru pointedly ignored them and continued. "What I mean is, we've been concentrating on Kakashi-sensei's enemies. Maybe that's a mistake. If we really want to help him maybe we should be looking for his friends."

"Yes, the bigger the swarm, the bigger it's effect."

They all looked at the quiet dark boy who'd been there all along, but who no one had noticed until now. Shino smiled behind his tall collar.

"A few bugs like us are easily swotted away. There's not much we can do to help someone like Sharingan Kakashi, but a cloud of insects can take down the most powerful foe."

"You mean…" Naruto's face brightened like a rising sun.

Shikamaru looked almost excited. "Yes. We aren't the strongest shinobi in Konoha, they're all being kept in the village right now, but we can make up for that in numbers. We're looking at the wrong scrolls. The ones we really want are the ones we've been filing away."

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Iruka was sleeping, apparently quite soundly. A fact not unrelated to the sticky stains on the rough field blanket wrapped around him. But despite the woolen blanket, and despite being fully dressed in his jutsu dried uniform, he was still shivering with cold. His body just wasn't accustomed to keeping warm in this weather without chakra. Just as anyone used to a warm climate had to adapt to a cooler one, so did he. But it wouldn't happen overnight, and Kakashi, watching over him protectively, knew that he was using too much of the energy he'd need the following day, just to fight off the cold.

He was tempted to lie beside him and warm him with his body heat, but he dare not risk falling asleep. Although he was sure Itachi and the old sennin could no longer track them directly, he also knew that they knew exactly where they were going. And that neither of them would let go of their prize so easily.

So he sat beside the teacher and worried. About Iruka's chattering teeth and the discomfort that seemed about to rouse him from his much-needed sleep. About the unrelenting hiss of falling rain that promised another slow soggy day of travel. About the risk of Itachi catching up to them and taking Iruka by force. And looming over everything was his greatest worry, that they would reach Konoha too late.

When the rainy world beyond their temporary nook had brightened from black to grey, he shook Iruka awake. He watched in silent detachment as the startled man's hand darted to his weapon pouch and then faltered.

"Come on, eat something then let's go. I'd like to make it at least halfway home if we can."

Iruka blinked for a moment. His reflex to reach for a weapon was there, but his speed was not. Then he remembered… the seal… no chakra. He'd be an even bigger liability now.

"Ok, let's push on. We can eat on the run."

Run, however, was hopelessly overoptimistic. Overnight the lake-bed had become a lethal mix of standing water, quicksand and mud. In the still-driving rain, even with the occasional aid of the sharingan, it was impossible to see more than a few dozen yards ahead. So they picked their way cautiously across the uncertain ground.

There was no way of judging the depth of the muddy water, so they skirted around it. Mud dragged at them, sucking sands swallowed them up to their knees, the whole place was one big death trap. By the time they stopped to eat again, and they knew they had to, although neither had any appetite for their nutrition bars and even less for the water they forced down their throats, they were both exhausted. Iruka physically, and Kakashi mentally.

They huddled together, backs to the wind, finding comfort if not warmth in the contact with each other. Kakashi braced himself for what he knew he had to say.

"I'm sorry Iruka, but you have to take off that seal. If we had good weather, if we didn't have to cross this damn lake… "

Iruka took in a sharp breath. "No! I can't. I just can't let him get hold of me again. I know I'm slowing you down, but I'll try harder. I'm young and strong, I can do better. Give me another chance."

Kakashi looked at his face, it was so wet with rain that it was impossible to tell if there were tears as well. But from the crack in Iruka's voice he was sure there must be. He kissed him and smiled, forcing his eye into its happy arc.

"Ok, if you say so."

But even before they started he knew it wasn't true. Iruka had already been pushing himself past his limit. Partly from raw determination, and partly because he had no real idea of what his limit was without chakra. And the wet desert seemed more anxious to claim them than ever.

As they reached the deepest part of the lake-bed, there was almost no solid ground. Iruka was following Kakashi's footprints around a large pool when he slipped. Almost instantly he felt himself sinking. Suddenly it seemed like the perfect solution, he'd just relax and let the sand take him. He wouldn't have to run, he wouldn't be a burden, without him Kakashi would be home before dark. The cold wet sand felt almost like a warm embrace to his exhausted befuddled mind, as it crept up his body.

Then he heard someone screaming at him and slapping his face. He knew because he felt his head jerk back with the blow, but there was no sting. He opened his eyes and Kakashi was kneeling over him, which meant that he was lying down. Rain was still pouring from the heavens and he watched for a while, fascinated by the rods of water aiming themselves at him from a place somewhere just beyond his range of vision.

"Iruka! Iruka! Don't you pass out on me again. Can you hold on to me? I'll carry you the rest of the way across."

He nodded and found himself hoisted onto a strong back, the way his father had carried him when he was a small boy. He knotted his hands together across the hard wet jacket and nestled his face into soft wet hair, which after several days of going unwashed, smelled a little like wet dog. As he stared at the ground flashing past under him, he saw the trail of wide circles created by Kakashi's feet. That was the way a shinobi should move. Fast and silent as an arrow, skimming over the surface of the water, not trying to creep around it like a mouse. Without chakra he was no ninja, with it he wasn't even himself. But he still had his reflexes at least, so he balanced himself to minimise his weight, and dozed to recoup his strength, lulled by the rhythmic flex of strong muscles.

It was dark by the time they stopped, under the overhang of a huge mushroom shaped rock. Kakshi set Iruka down and then collapsed onto the sand. Too spent to care how much sand stuck to his wet clothes. Iruka took a ration bar from Kkashi's pack and crunbled it into his tin cup with some water.

"Here, warm this with chakra then drink it." He handed him a twist of orange paper. "Put some of this in it too, it will help you sleep."

Kakashi sniffed at the paper. "Opium?"

"Yes. That pirate had a ton of it in his cabin. I threw most of it overboard but kept a few. Well it's a decent painkiller and I left my med kit back at that castle, along with…"

He noticed the look Kakashi was giving him and sat beside him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Please?" You're exhausted. If I'd been in my right mind I'd never have let you carry me so far, and you haven't slept in three days, don't think I can't tell. Let me keep watch tonight. The way you used to."

Kakshi looked deep into his eyes, seeing nothing there but love. "Will it make you happy?"

"Yes."

He untwisted the paper and watched as the brown powder fell into his cup. "Then you don't have to ask."

Iruka watched his sleeping lover as he'd promised. Feeling his emotions ebb and flow with the other's deep breaths. He ran his fingers through the silver hair. And whispered, more to himself and to the night, than to the man he loved too much. At least it had stopped raining at last.

"I'm sorry but I have to go. I know that you do understand, really. This isn't just you and me Kakashi, it's Konoha. Whoever took those bombs has at least two days lead on us and you can't catch up if you're dragging me along with you."

He moved to stand, then bent over to brush his lips against Kakashi's, leached of all colour in the few pale streaks of moonlight that made their way past the thinning cloud cover. Then he stood, feeling surprisingly strong, hardened by his resolve. This was the right thing for him to do, and they both knew it.


	23. Chapter 23

Afore I start, kinda got a BIG SPOILER in here. Anyways, as before there are no similarities with the manga story, but some of the other (Non story) stuff _is_ canon. Don't want to be too specific cos that would make it worse. As before if you've read that far in the manga you'll recognise it, if you haven't you won't, but you may have an aha! moment when you, or the aninmé, get to it. So… you've been warned, read at own risk.

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Kakashi was woken by a shaft of moonlight shining, like a beacon, through a break in the clouds. The first thing he was aware of was that it had stopped raining. The second was the way his body felt light and… disconnected… from his brain. Right, Iruka had given him opium, to sleep. So why was he awake now? The dose he'd swallowed should have kept him out cold until morning. That is, unless he had built up some tolerance, from a much larger dose, taken fairly recently. Iruka had said he found the opium in the pirate's cabin. No doubt they used it to drug their captives… including him. That explained a lot, and it must have been a large enough dose to have wiped his memory.

So the Mermaid pirates drugged their victims, sealed their power and then used the sennin's blood to 'turn' them before they took off the seal. But he'd escaped. And the 'boss' had plainly said he had no use for jounins anyway. Maybe jounin strength chakra directed against the blood curse made them too dangerous, too hard to control, or maybe they just went insane. Well it was decent evidence that they wouldn't have to fight anyone beyond the rank of chuunin. Speaking of chuunins…he looked around for Iruka. A dull feeling of dread started to seep through him as he realised that Iruka was gone.

The absence of the teacher's familiar presence suddenly made everything feel empty, like a void, a vacuum. He reached out further with his senses and sprang to his feet, too fast. The world swirled around him, forcing him to lean against the rock to catch his balance. Then the moon broke through the clouds again, just for a few seconds. But it was enough.

In the moonlight he saw a single line of footprints in the wet sand. _Headed away from Konoha. _ He sank back to his knees and spread his hands inside two of the indentations, they were as good as a suicide note. With them Iruka had clearly stated his intention to die in the desert, for without the use of chakra he couldn't possibly survive alone. He knew that by morning he would be too far away for Kakashi to go after him, leaving him with no choice but to go on to Konoha alone, unencumbered, well rested, and with the speed Hatake Kakashi was legendary for. Iruka had tricked him, done the only thing left within his power to help save his village. The lying, sneaky, impossibly loyal, wonderful, bastard. But he hadn't counted on him waking so soon, after less than… Kakashi scanned the unclouded patches of sky for clues, three hours. Maybe he still had time.

For the second time in his life Kakashi was faced with _this _same hopeless choice. Did he abandon his teammate for the sake of his mission, or risk his mission to try to rescue someone he loved? The drug induced chaos in his brain hurled him towards the edge of that same dark place he'd spent half of his life, and three quarters of his mental energy, avoiding.

Iruka or Konoha? The choice was stark and clear, which was his greater loyalty? His greater love? The phantom of twisted logic reached up to touch him from the abyss. For him Iruka _was_ Konoha, its very heart and soul. He was what he fought for, came home for, lived for. To rescue one was to save the other, or save that much of it that was worth saving.

He stabbed the tip of a finger with a needle and watched the drop of blood form, like a jewel on his fingertip, then fall onto the summoning scroll.

"Pakkun, I need you to go on to Konoha, alone."

The little dog stared at him in disbelief, then sniffed the air. He sat back and scratched behind an ear with his hind foot, the ghost of a smile visible on his thin black doggie lips.

"You're stoned out of your mind Kakashi-kun, but you had me going for a moment there."

Kakashi folded his legs under him and leaned all the way down, to look at his summon eye to eye. "Yes there's some opium in my system, but I'm deadly serious. You _must_ complete my mission, in case… in case I don't."

Pakkun froze, his leg still poised in mid air. "You realise how much desert there is between here and there, I may not make it either."

"I know, I'm sorry. But it just rained for two days straight, probably it's share for the next ten years, so it won't get too hot, not at this time of year. And they'll be plenty of water along the way. I'd send one of the others if I could, but it's complicated, you're the only one who can explain."

Pakkun flopped onto the sand on his belly. His brown eyes big, loyal, sorrowful. Why did he have to use that look, of all his puppy dog looks? Brown eyes were just too heartbreaking right now. "Ok Master, I'll do my best. Gimme the details."

Moments later the little pug was lost to the darkness. Kakashi gathered everything into his pack and set off in the opposite direction.

Naturally there was no chakra trail, but for the first few miles the tracks were easy to follow. Then the desert became stony and the footprints indistinct or non-existent. It was dark too. The wind picked up, blowing in denser clouds, blocking the stars and dimming the moon to a faint circle. Without it's light the landscape was almost black on black, not even the horizon was visible. Well his chakra was low, but he'd worn it down further than this in the past couple of weeks, there was no point holding back now. He uncovered the sharingan.

Instantly he saw them. Two piercing orbs, like stars of chakra. Shit, and there was no way _he _hadn't been seen too.

Itachi was beside him before he had time to blink. Hair and silken robe, as dark as the night, billowing in the wind. Even though his pale features registered no emotion of any kind, there was no denying his sex appeal.

"Hatake-san, or can I call you Kakashi? And all alone, just as I'd expected. So loyalty to Konoha won out, although it seems you needed something to calm your nerves. Did you bury him here, in the desert? That's what I would have done, after the necessary… precautions."

Kakshi felt his nostrils flaring under his mask as he maintained his casual slouch and calm voice. "Don't compare yourself to me Uchiha-_san_ there's nothing alike about us."

Itachi trailed a finger down the scar on his face, pausing to hook a finger under the edge of his mask. "Really? I think we have quite a lot in common. Two misunderstood geniuses, ambitious beyond our years, I think we're ideally suited for each other. Konoha can be so heartless with its orphans."

Right, _orphans._ Kakashi gently lifted Itachi's hand from his face then dropped it as if it was something disgusting. "Congratulations, you've just made it onto my shortest list, right between Orochimaru and Tsunade. The list of people I would never consider sleeping with, no matter how desperate or horny I was."

His one sharingan saw the angry flash of power in Itachi's two. "No, you prefer chuunins, weaklings that you can bully and dominate, like my cousin."

Kakashi almost laughed aloud, even though he was holding back tears. Dominate? He obviously didn't know Iruka at all. "Obito was my friend and rival, nothing more."

"Oh? That's not what I saw in _his_ eyes."

The memory Itachi had shown him flooded back, making his heart skip a beat. Fuck, there was no way he would have missed that. "Well it's been a delightful conversation, but if you'll excuse me… You know, places to go, people to see."

Itachi stiffened his stance. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. I've been instructed to bring you in."

Double fuck. He couldn't win a fight now. Not in this sorry, worn down, drug impaired state. "Not alive I hope." _Of course he wanted him alive, he'd be dead by now if he didn't._ "It would be a pity for Uchiha Itachi to fail in such a simple request."

Uchiha's used fire, what did he have that could counter, that Itachi wouldn't know? Kakashi flashed through seals, copying from the sharingan's memory, adjusting, improvising.

Desert Tsunami!

A wall of sandy water rose from the saturated ground and crashed onto Itachi, just as fire was starting to flare in the palms of his hands. It swept over the rough ground, sucking the stones in its path into a hissing roar, and leaving them piled in concentric heaps.

As it drained away Itachi was still standing, wet, bedraggled, but unmoved. "Is that the best you have to offer?"

But his words fell on nothing more than retreating water and stony ground. Deep below his feet Kakshi held in his chakra and his breath, quieting all signs of life. It was a cheap trick, which was why it might just work. Itachi would expect more of him.

The Uchiha scanned the horizons with his sharingans spinning frenziedly. "So you teleported away under cover of that wave. Well you were too weak to go very far Kakashi-kun. And I still have a few days."

When he was completely sure that Itachi was gone, Kakashi struggled back above ground and lay panting on a pile of wet stones. By sheer force of will he pulled himself to his feet. He had nothing left, the signs of his body starting to shut down were all too clear. Then, as the clouds parted again, he saw something. The water from his jutsu had flattened a small rise in the ground, merging into a pool of rainwater that lay beyond. And within that he could see something else, something darker. His nose told him what.

He staggered towards it, desperate to know, but wishing with all his heart that he could stay away. Iruka was sprawled face down in the water, his hair floating around him like an aquatic weed. Kakashi's worst fears were true. The blood in the water _was_ Iruka's blood.

Even as consciousness slipped from him Kakashi choked out a laugh as he felt one more piece of the puzzle slide into place. So that's why they'd done it. The two Cloud nin's hadn't opened their veins in that underground lake to confuse him at all. It had been their last defiant act to die free, to wash away the wolf's blood contaminating their bodies. And instinctively Iruka had chosen the same path.

With one final effort he managed to touch the tips of Iruka's fingers. Cold… like his. He was spent, lacking even enough energy to fight off the chill of the wind and the night. So this was it, they would both die here tonight. He'd tried to save Iruka, he'd tried to get to Konoha. He'd done his best. But as usual, it wasn't quite enough.

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He hadn't expected to wake up at all, and especially not here, wherever here was. Kakashi found himself lying on padded mat, in a large dark space, cool, moist, windowless, filled with the dark odours of human habitation. And Iruka was gone… again. A presence entered the room, casting a weak light from the lantern in his hand. Kakashi had a kunai at his throat almost instantly. Unusual, whoever had brought him here had left him fully armed.

"Where's the man who was with me?"

A tremble ran through the man holding the light. "You're awake, I'm sorry I was only gone for a few minutes. We found you yesterday, out on the desert, almost dead."

Kakashi wasn't about to be distracted, he let the kunai draw a pinprick of blood. "The other man, where is he?"

The man's simple fear took on a more complex shading. "You were half dead but…" He took a deep breath. "Since you're awake now I should take you to Dakatsu, those were my orders."

Kakashi's sinking heart rallied at the familiar name. He appeared in front of the man, searching his face for truth, but with his weapon still drawn.

"You mean this is Dakatsu's village? The village under the sand?"

"Yes. Come with me and I'll take you to them… er, to her."

With determination that belied the dizziness and faintness he was still feeling, Kakashi put away his weapon and followed the stranger. The tunnels led for what seemed like miles underground until finally branching off into a dimly lit chamber. He sensed Dakatsu at once. She was sitting on a plain wooden chair next to a low cot, like the kind they used at the hospital in Konoha when they didn't have enough proper beds. There was a man lying on it… Iruka. So why couldn't he feel him?

He knelt next to the cot and traced his fingers over the red line on the teacher's wrist. His uniform was clean and dry and his black hair was neatly combed and arranged spread out on either side of his face. But even without the colour contrast he would have looked pale, beyond pale, white. As if he was carved from wax. Iruka should never look pale, should never look like this. Iruka was tan, and blush, and flushed red with passion. He was embarrassed, amused, scolding and yelling in fury, sighing and groaning with pleasure. Not white and still and… dead.

Through the terrifying emptiness Kakashi heard a familiar voice. "I'm so sorry dearie, so sorry. But when we found him he'd already lost so much blood, there weren't nothing we could do."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka felt calm, nothing but intense breathtaking calm. Far ahead he could make out the outline of a single tree, so he started towards it. The light was white, bright and strangely even, like the kind of mist often seen in the early morning of hot summer days, before the sun rises high enough to burn it off. But it wasn't misty. The air was cool and completely clear. He realised with shock that the fuzziness of the tree was caused by its incalculable distance from him. And the only reason he was able to see it at all was because of its immense size.

He continued walking towards it, even while he told himself that there was no point, that it was too far, tens, hundreds, maybe thousands, of miles. And that he could never reach it. And then he was standing next to a trunk wider around than the largest building in Konoha, looking up into a canopy of branches that encompassed the whole sky. It was like the Hero Tree in Taki, but a thousand times bigger, or rather the way the Hero Tree should be. A vast, sheltering, presence. Protecting and requiring nothing in return.

In fact this was the Hero Tree, or rather the Hero Tree was a refection of this. A mere reflection, distorted and twisted by the imperfections and failings of the mortal world, to a weak and feeble parody of itself. But still with the power to sustain and protect a whole people.

"Hey Ru-kun. Wotcha doin' down there? Come on up." The voice of his childhood friend sang out across more than two decades.

But Ichiri had died when they were children. He'd never known how or why, he'd simply been told that his friend was dead, and even at five he'd been enough of a ninja to understand what that meant. So why was this boy from his past calling to him now?

Ichiri's voice was joined by others, children, teens, friends, teammates. A chorus of welcoming voices, each one the voice of the dead.

An arm grabbed his, reaching down from the leafy branch above, from the sky. It was a strong well-muscled arm, exceptional, even for a ninja. A swordsman's arm. Hayate's face stared down at him.

"That's right Iruka, we're all here." A friendly smile curled his lips. "Your parents are here too, don't you want to see them?"

It was true, he _could _see them, his mother and his father, looking just the way they had on that last morning. Happy, kind, his mum and dad, just that. Dressed in their Konoha uniforms. They'd said goodbye, told him to work hard at school, then left for the mission room. Little knowing that within hours half the village would be a smoldering ruin and that they'd both be dead.

And he felt… calm. Was that all he could feel now? Calm? No love, no hate, no fiery fury at the man whose cursed blood had torn him away from his life and his future.

"Mum, Dad. But… but you're dead. What are you doing here? In this tree?"

His mother smiled, radiating calm. Nothing like the quick, funny, hot tempered woman he remembered. "We are this tree, each of us is a leaf on the tree of life."

They moved apart, opening a space for him, just as they always had. They were so close, so bound by love that they had seemed melded together at times, but they always made room for him, between them.

"The tree of life? But… but you're dead?"

"Life and death are two sides of the same thing. It's like a leaf, you can't see both sides at the same time.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi knew what he had to do. He started to mold chakra, he just hoped that he'd had time to get back enough. He'd fashioned the first of the seals and was partway through the second. Following the pattern etched into his brain by the sharingan. Suddenly his hand was grabbed out of the air and forced down by his side. He stumbled back a few paces in surprise. Dakatsu was standing square in front of him, her arms folded sternly in front of her chest. If her eyes had been brown instead of blue the look would have been familiar. It almost made him want to cry.

"Oh no you don't, not that. I know how you're feeling my lovey. But I'll not allow it. It were my people that saved your life out there on the sands, I won't let you throw it away on a forbidden jutsu. Not while you're still here in my care."

Kakashi flashed a desperate look in her direction. She knew? How could she possibly know about _that _jutsu? She wasn't even shinobi. "I won't do anything reckless."

Dakatsu's face wrinkled into her familiar smile, but somehow there was no warmth or joy in it.

"Liar. A desert's not like a forest ya know, there's only a fraction the people in Wind Country as you've got over in Fire. And pretty much all of us is related one way or another. Gaara's my cousin once or twice removed, and Chiyoba-sama? Well she were my mother's aunt."

So she did know.

Kakashi uncurled the rigid fingers of his right hand, he hadn't noticed that he'd fisted it, blood ran down his palm from where it had been cut by his fingernails.

His words came out as hard as flint. "I don't let my teammates die."

Dakatsu's pale eyes glinted with something he hadn't seen in them before. "Oh… _teammate_, so that's what you calls him."

Even Kakashi couldn't maintain a lie in the face of such determined honesty and unconditional kindness. "You don't understand, I can't live without him. I… I thought I'd lost him, forever, just days ago. I can't go through that again."

She grabbed his face as if he was a stubborn child. Turning it towards hers.

"Look at me! Do you think he can live any better wi'out you? I know the cost o' this jutsu, would you force on him what you can't stand yourself? Make him live out every day, alone, knowing that he was only alive because you was dead?"

Kakashi's whole body froze rigid. _Like Obito did to me._

Dakatsu's voice softened. "Look at me lad. I knows. Trust me I does know. You might not want to at first but you'll survive." Her voice became distant as she looked up sharply. "I lost my partner two years ten months and seven days ago. We'd been together thirty-three years. But I's still here. You'll survive, 'syour duty to your village, just as it's mine to my clan."

She watched the light go out of his eyes. Maybe there was another way.

She left him slumped on the rough matting.

When she came back she dropped a fiery opal, the size of a goose egg, onto his lap. "Try using this lad. It's my clan's treasure, the snakehead. It's got power and if you can make use o' it you're welcome to it."

Kakshi cupped the stone in his hands, feeling the energy within and gazed up to meet her eyes as she continued.

"You can use it for your bargain, instead of yourself. But you must promise me two things. If it's not enough you must come back, choose duty over love."

Kakashi pulled himself to his feet. It would be enough, he was sure of it. Swirls of purple and gold were already flowing into him from the stone, molding his life force the way he'd learned to mold chakra since he was a toddler.

"I agree. What else."

"If he doesn't want to come you must leave him. Not force him to do something he's not willing to do."

That was harder. Could he have Iruka within his grasp and turn away? Live the rest of his life shadowed by a loss even greater than those he'd already suffered?

Yes he could.

He'd never forced Iruka to do anything and he never would. If he didn't want to come back he'd accept his decision, however hard.

He looked down at Dakatsu, searching for answers in her rosy wrinkled face. "Why are you doing this for me? For us?"

"Cos I can dearie, you came here in trouble and I got what it takes to help you out. I don't need no more reason than that."

She sighed and smiled a sheepish half smile then shook her head. "And that's the honest truth, but… In your case there is just a speck more to it. I ain't never told no one this afore, but I had a wild side, when I were young. First I got myself pregnant, then I got myself kidnapped."

"Kidnapped."

"Yeah, down in the port. Stupid kid that I was. That's why I go there so free now. Damn place can't scare me. It already did the worst to me that there could ever be."

"You mean you were…"

She shook he head, making her red curls bounce in a way that seemed inappropriately cheerful. "Worse'n that dearie. I got bumped around pretty bad and went into labour afore my time. I had a little boy, wi white hair like yourn, and like his father's. But the poor little soul didn't make it. I never even had a chance to hold him, to say goodbye. I expect they just threw his little body overboard."

Kakashi looked at her with new understanding. She _did_ know true pain and loss. And she'd had a child with white hair? "Overboard? You were at sea?"

She shrugged. "Port Koizuko, the pirates been doin a trade in girls, boys too, for centuries. But they wouldn't a got much of a price for me in that condition, so they took me aboard and waited. Lucky for me my old dad tracked me down afore too long and ransomed 'em off."

A pause stretched between them, but it was thoughtful, companionable, not awkward.

"Did you tell Jiraiya?" There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind who the child's white haired father must have been.

The wrinkles deepened around Dakatsu's eyes, but again there was no happiness in them.

"No. Weren't no point. It were just a fling, between two kids. Funny thing was when I did fall in love for real it were with another woman, so there never was no chance for another child. I used to lie awake and think sometimes, what it would have been like, watching our little boy grow up, together." Her eyes softened and she ruffled her hands through Kakashi's fluffy hair. "I hope he would of turned out a lot like you dearie."

So the pirate boss was Jiraiya's natural son, stolen from his mother at birth. Dakatsu must never know what a brute he'd been raised to be. Kakashi felt the weight of the world's sorrows pressing down on him, but he could help Dakatsu with this one. He'd hold the secret in his heart for her, after everything she'd done for him it was the very least he could do in return.

Kakashi slowly lowered his mask and brushed his lips across her cheek. "It's a pity, you'd have been a wonderful mother." He swallowed, trying to dislodge the sudden lump in his throat. "I wish you _had_ been mine."

He stood up straight, the swirls within the sharingan glittering with the vibrant colours of the opal. "Ok."

Dakatsu stood back as he placed the stone on the chest of the body that looked so much like the man he loved, while having nothing left of that man within it.

He fashioned the seals.

And he was standing in a strange place, surrounded by even white light, under a tree that towered over him, in a cloud of calm peacefulness. It was as if the tree itself had a powerful aura, pulling him in. The tree wanted him and he wanted to be a part of it, nestled in its branches.

Suddenly Iruka was standing beside him. He wrapped a hand around the teacher's waist as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if they were in Konoha, going about their daily lives.

"Iruka? Where are we?"

"In the shadow of the tree, the tree of life. The shadow between life and death. This is the only place where you can see both sides of the leaves at the same time."

The tree of life? He'd never heard of it, but somehow he'd been familiar with it his whole life. "Are your family there?"

Iruka nodded. "They're all there, waiting for me to go up and join them."

Kakashi looked up into the towering branches. Everyone _he_ loved was there too, he couldn't see them, but he could feel them. He felt a hand tugging at the back of his clothes, and realised that he had started to climb.

"Kakashi. Where are you going."

"Up there. Up there with you, I don't want to go back. There's too much pain on the other side, too many regrets."

He landed crouched on the tree's gnarly roots and sat down. Iruka nestled himself on his lap, facing him, with his legs hooked behind his back.

"But Kakashi, you aren't dead."

He looked up, meeting brown eyes with mismatched red and blue. "I am while I'm here."

Iruka had never seen such soul piercing truth in them. He shook his head, making his loose hair ripple around his face.

"No. You came to get me, not to join me." Kakashi felt gentle lips against his cheek. "You don't belong up there, not yet. And my place isn't with my parents anymore, it's with you."

Iruka's brown eyes flashed with a stubborn glare through the gentleness. It was a look that, surely, could be seen on no one else. Alive or dead. "Besides we still have a mission to complete, and a lifetime to live, together."

The next thing Kakashi was aware of was the cup of hot tea being pressed into his hands. For a moment the coils of steam rising from it merged in his mind with the featureless white landscape he had just come from. Then his senses were assaulted by its fragrance, the smell of the earthy chamber, and of antiseptic.

Iruka!

He tried to stand but his legs didn't obey the commands from his brain. Dakatsu's voice reached him through his confusion.

"Best rest up for a few ticks lovey, you just come back from the dead remember."

He looked over and saw her sitting by the cot where Iruka was lying. But now his wrists were bandaged and he was covered in a blanket.

She ran her fingers through his silky hair. "He's asleep. Drink up then it wouldn't hurt you none to get a bit 'o sleep yourself. I'll have a few of the lads take you to my place. You can sleep in my bed for as long as you like. Both of you."

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A/N This chapter was actually my starting point for the story, love that is stronger than death (sigh). Everything so far (believe it or not) has been leading up to this.

So… now onto the resolution. Lots of good stuff and many sharp pointy storythreads to tie up.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N Sorry to interrupt again, but just a warning that the last scene here is kind of limey. I slipped in a break to let you know so you can skip it if you prefer :) Trying to pick up the pace and get this finished so i apologise in advance for bad spelling.

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Chap 24 Here.

Naruto woke up and squinted past his potted plant at the November sky, scraping his hand through his unruly hair. The sun was completely hidden behind a sheet of silver-grey. If clouds had silver linings then these needed a damn good tailoring job, their linings were hanging out all over.

Kakashi-sensei had shown them how to read the time from the sky when there was no sun and no shadows a long time ago. He wouldn't let them eat lunch until they could and they'd starved three days in a row. The fourth day they'd pinpointed noon exactly and he'd rewarded them with not only ramen for lunch, but ice-cream sundaes as well.

So that meant it was… damn, nearly ten 'o clock. He glanced at his alarm clock for confirmation. Damn, the traitor hadn't woken him, or had he forgotten to set it? Damn, he knew that lazy jounin would rub off on him sooner or later. Well, at least he wasn't reading porn on missions yet, if he tried that Sakura would kill him.

He burst into the mission room ten minutes later. Everyone else was already there and from the looks he was getting they'd been there for a while.

"Oh Naruto, you really are dead last aren't you? But I'm really happy that you made it."

He just _knew_ that someone would say it, but he hadn't expected it to be Hinata.

Before he had a chance to explain, Sakura had grabbed his arm roughly and dragged him with her to the ANBU guard on duty.

"Team Kakashi, we have a nine thirty appointment to see Hokage-sama." The dangerous light in her eyes defied him to make a crack about 'Kakashi's team' being late.

As the little congregation was ushered into Tsunade's office, she took them in with a single sweep of her eyes. And was almost tempted to hitch up the front of her shirt, the way that Hyuuga boy was staring reminded her way too much of Jiraiya. But decided not to bother, since he was a Hyuuga it wouldn't make any difference anyway. She tented her fingers under her chin and leaned forward.

"So what is this? A chuunin exam reunion?"

Sakura felt an elbow in the back of her ribs and stepped forward. She smudged away the beads of sweat prickling her brow, under cover of brushing a strand of hair away from her face. When she was alone with Tsunade she never felt like this. Why did addressing her as Hokage-sama make her so nervous?

"Hakage-sama, you know that we've been going through Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei's old mission reports. Well, you see, we've been thinking. Kakashi-sensei has a lot of enemies. I mean _a lot_. Too many really for us to narrow down… but he has a lot of friends too…"

Tsunade smiled, curious to see where this was going. True there were people in the village who were fiercely loyal to the annoying brat, she was looking at some of them, but Hatakes were admired, not loved. She'd been Sakumo's friend, but she couldn't think of enough others to use up more than a few fingers on one hand. Not true friends.

"Yes I'm sure he has friends."

Sakura took a deep breath.

"Well you're always talking about the importance of allies. There seem to be a lot of people who would like the chance to help Kakashi-sensei, and Iruka-sensei too, because… you know they… Well we thought that if we could get in touch with some of them, find out if they've heard anything…"

Tsunade scanned the eager young faces, Naruto's and Sakura's shining particularly bright. So Hatake's team _did_ care about him, at least as much as they admired him. Who'd have thought it? Sakumo had always been such a lone wolf.

"Help is always… helpful. If you feel that there are people outside the village who might be willing to work with us to track them down, then I don't see why not. I take it you have some particular individuals in mind?"

"Er, yes. We wrote them down off the mission reports. While we were going through them."

So there were enough names to need writing down, she was surprised. Tsunade held out her hand.

When Naruto produced a stack… _a stack_, of paper, she almost fell off her chair.

She flicked through the pages, scanning the columns of names. If only Sakumo had had half, a tenth, this many people to rely on, surely he'd still be here to help her with this mess. "So you really think that all of these people _like _Kakashi?"

Naruto rested the palm of one hand on Tsunade's desk and leaned towards her with a big foxy grin. Sakura couldn't help notice the trickle of perspiration from under _his_ headband. So he was feeling nervous too.

"Hell yes. I mean, I know he's an annoying lazy bastard and a pervert and everything. And he doesn't say very much, but he sorta understands people and he's got a weird way of making them understand themselves too. So he's really kind of… great in his own way. Well he must be, or Iruka-sensei wouldn't like him so much would he?"

Naruto turned back to look at the others. They nodded their support like so many bobblehead ninjas, and suddenly everyone had a Kakashi-sensei story.

"…saved us all with his sharingan… a worthy rival to Gai-sensei… understands that relaxing and taking the time to think… takes fate in his own hands and shapes his own destiny… eats faster than anyone I know… that dogs are the most important… can throw a shuriken further and faster… that teamwork means working together like insects in a hive…"

Tsunade held up her hand for silence.

"And I bet he's really _very_ cute under that mask." Ino slapped her hand over her mouth as she realised that everyone else had already stopped talking. Tsunade gave her a cursory glare for good measure.

"Ok, I get it. Shizune will work with you to contact as many of these people as we can _without_ unnecessary risks. But I want team Kakashi to stay here and continue with the work they've been doing."

Naruto spun back around to face her. It was hard to say which was open wider, his gaping mouth or his incredulous eyes. "But we're his…"

"Yes I know, his teammates." She shot Sakura a meaningful, almost pleading look."

Sakura put her hand on Naruto's tense shoulder. "S'ok I've gotta stick around anyway. I'm a med-nin. We're in a state of emergency remember, and if we get attacked there'll be casualties. Besides we've still got a lot of scrolls to go through." She returned Tsunade's look with a plea of her own. "Maybe with just the two of us we can get the clearance to check out some of the classified ones."

Naruto punched the air triumphantly. "Way cool. Let's get to it Sakura."

As the ANBU ushered them out Tenten whispered in Neiji's ear. "I hope we get the chance to look for Gai-sensei too."

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Iruka sneezed, then he sneezed again. He tried to raise a hand to brush the fluffy hair away from his face, but there was an unbreakable grip around his chest, trapping his arms. He felt lips curve into a smile against his throat through the fabric of his shirt, and the hard metal of a headband pressed into his jaw. That was odd, why was he in bed fully dressed? Why were they both fully dressed?

He shifted against the weight of the long muscular body that was pinning him down.

"Kakashi?"

"Mmm."

"Why do we have all our clothes on? You're even wearing your forehead protector and you never sleep in it."

There seemed to be something missing from his memory. Not so much a gap as a discontinuity, like in a movie when the DVD jumps from one scene to another without a proper cut. He thought back, testing the logic of various scenarios.

"Did we go out and get drunk or something?"

Kakashi ignored all but the first part of the question. He slipped off the cloth and metal band and set to work removing Iruka's shirt. "Easy enough to fix, anything to make you more comfortable Iruka-sensei."

Strange Iruka didn't feel hungover. In fact he felt wonderful, better than he could ever remember, almost… reborn. He stretched out and relaxed, feeling precise nimble fingers working at the buttons on his uniform. It was a nice feeling, very nice. And it held the promise of something nicer still.

"And where are we anyway, this isn't your bed, or mine. The last thing I remember is the desert, in the rain, with the wind and the mud."

Kakashi flicked on a light at the bedside.

Iruka saw the long dress hanging next to the mirror, the silver-backed hairbrushes and opal jewelery on the dressing table. The large, that is exceedingly large, old-fashioned bra casually discarded into the laundry hamper. Even Tsunade's breasts would rattle around inside that thing.

"This is a woman's room."

A vision of a blond with breast three times as big as Tsunade's floated into his brain, and he jumped as if he'd just been shocked with a cattle prod. "You haven't set me up for some kind of pervy threesome have you?"

Kakashi raised a white eyebrow. "Mmm, would you like that Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up. Another time he'd have laughed, but this wasn't one of those times, he was feeling way to unsettled and unsure. He raked a hand through his hair to pull it back from his eyes.

"Dammit Kakashi, sometimes I wonder if you really love me at all."

Kakashi chuckled under his breath and pulled him back in, folding him into his aura, running a hand through his loose hair and dotting a line of kisses along his scar. "If I _didn't,_ I really don't think there's any way you'd be here today, with me."

Iruka felt Kakashi's flood of true emotion pour over him. He rolled unto his back and stretched out. "No. I suppose I'd still be waiting in line along with everyone else."

Kakashi hid his surprise perfectly. _That_ wasn't the answer he'd expected. Maybe Iruka truly _didn't _remember anything. Maybe he simply _didn't know_ that he'd been brought back from the dead. If so it was probably just as well.

_And_ he had just enough decency to blush very slightly. "Waiting in line? Was my reputation really that bad?"

He felt a tongue probing the ridges of his ear, teeth nibbling at his earlobe, and a hot breathy whisper. "No, it was that good."

The hand still combing through Iruka's hair caught on a snag, just as the other was starting to work its way down under his pants. "Your hair does tangle easily doesn't it? Maybe Dakatsu has some sporks."

"Dakatsu?" Iruka mumbled into the nape of his lover's neck between kisses.

"Yes. This is her place. We're with the clan of the desert snakes, they found us out in the desert. She's their leader, kind of their Tsunade."

Iruka sat up as the vision made an abrupt reappearance. His heightened colour would have been obvious even without the sudden flare in his chakra. "And this is her bed, like _their_ _Tsunade's _bed."

Looked at that way it was a bit of a passion killer. "Iruka wait, she's not a bit like Tsunade, I promise. She won't mind, she offered…"

But Iruka was already by the door, straightening and refastening his clothes and searching his pockets for a hairband. As he reached for the handle there was a knock on the other side. He opened it cautiously. A short plump middle-aged woman, with surprisingly red hair, stood in the doorway holding a bundle of fluffy white towels.

She looked him over fondly, then beamed past him to Kakashi and winked.

"Well you two boys be looking right chirpy today. Just brought you along some towels and other stuff you might be needing. The bathroom's right behind that there door. 'I b'ain't really set up for houseguests."

She shrugged as she grinned wider and her eyes almost vanished behind the deep wrinkles surrounding them.

"Ain't never had none afore. So just go on ahead and use whatever soap and shampoo and stuff as you can find. Then when you're all done come join me for a cup 'o tea and a bite to eat. Right at the end 'o this short passage you can't miss it. But take your time, I's got plenty to do and I ain't going nowhere."

She set down her bundle and left, closing the door carefully behind her.

Iruka picked up the comb, hair-band, pack of razors and men's deodorant, that were lying on the top towel. "Was that…"

"Yes, that's Dakatsu."

"I thought you said she was like Tsunade? I don't think I can imagine anyone more different."

"Did I? Then I must have lied. Strip. I want to take a look at you."

Kakashi's change in tone, as well as his natural modesty made Iruka's guts tighten uneasily at the direct order.

"I hope this is a check for damage by my team leader, not just you being a pervert."

Kakashi smirked lecherously. "Can't I enjoy my work?"

It was the answer he'd expected, but Iruka was sure he could see something deeper beneath it. He took off his shirt.

"Why are my wrists bandaged?"

Kakshi ignored him. "Now take the rest off."

Iruka shucked off the rest of his clothes and kicked them aside. He stood straight, to attention, looking the other man in the eye.

"Kakashi, why are my wrists bandaged."

So he wouldn't just let it drop, Kakashi had to think fast. He smiled, making his eye curve and added another even more lecherous smirk.

"It was your turn to be tied up."

"Oh."

Iruka unwound the gauze, letting it fall to the ground in pleated folds.

"Strange, look here. There are lines on my wrists."

Kakashi took hold of a wrist and ran his finger over the white mark. For the first time in his life he wished Iruka was less tan. The line would have been almost invisible on paler skin.

"Scars?"

"Could be, but they're smooth and faint, as if they're really old. And I swear I didn't have them yesterday. I mean I was a troubled teen in my own way, but I never tried to slash my wrists."

"Mmm, maybe from another lifetime. Let me see your back now."

Another lifetime? Fleetingly Iruka started to form a question, but then let it go. He'd never understand Kakashi's mind.

"Right, my back, I'd forgotten. It feels fine, as if nothing had ever happened."

"I know it _is_ fine, I checked before I went to sleep. But I want to see it again anyway."

"Something clicked into place in Iruka's brain. So that's how come I woke up with you lying all over me. You're impossible, you know that?"

"I do my best."

Iruka could have just as easily kissed him, if he's stopped the think about it. His emotions were equally divided between familiar affection and familiar irritation. But he didn't think, he just hit him.

Kakashi grabbed his arm and went with the follow through, pulling them both onto the floor in a sprawling heap. They wrestled briefly to get in top. Very briefly. Kakashi didn't want to win.

Iruka pinned him down, flushed with victory. "They healed me didn't they, these snake people. I feel all sparkly new, even the blisters on my feet are gone."

Sparkly new, it was a good description. Kakashi felt stronger than he had in weeks, months. There was obviously nothing quite like dying to give you a new lease on life.

"They have their secrets just as we have ours. The blood's gone too, the blood jutsu. Didn't you notice that they took off the seal?"

Iruka slammed one palm onto his chest, where the seal had been, eyes as wide as saucers.

"You mean you found a cure, a way to get rid of it?"

Kakashi shook his head, avoiding Iruka's eyes. "Just for you. It can't be done that way again."

"So you think there are others under the curse? How many?"

"Enough to get the job done." He smiled to cover the uneasiness he's allowed to creep into his voice, and slapped Iruka's buttock. "Come on, let's take a shower."

Iruka stared down at him, eyes clouded by dark lust. Rolling around together had stirred a rather obvious response, especially since he was naked.

"Together, you and me?"

Kakashi reached his mouth up and his hands down, to lay claim to his two favourite parts of his favourite person. "Unless you want to invite Dakatsu to join us? For a threesome."

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Gai slackened his pace yet further, if he didn't know him better he'd have sworn Iruka-sensei was deliberately slowing them down.

"So Sensei, how long before we reach this island?"

Ookami Ketsuekimusha bit into another dumpling and watched them through the window in his mind. There was something about this particular Leaf jounin that was different. Hell, everything about him was 'different', but _this _one he could use! Even the modest penetration the blood mist gave him into his mind allowed him to see how straightforward and uncomplicated Maitai Gai really was. And the Uchiha brat had expected him to be able to use Sharingan Hataki. He'd have lost his own sanity trying to probe through all those layers.

Instead he'd taken matters into his own hands and brought the big jounin back from the forests of Konoha, there were plenty of others still there, waiting for their signal. A little prick, a few drops of blood, and this powerful man would be his ace in the hole. He already had the other one primed and ready to go. The two of them were all he needed to take back what was his, with or without the help of the Atakzuki.

Without a pause in his constant browsing, he mouthed the words for his tool, his living puppet, as it struggled to keep up with Konoha's green beast.

"We'll be there within an hour at this pace. Kakashi will be ready by then and we'll go back with him to Konoha."

The sennin smiled at his own cleverness. Yes _his_ Kakashi would be ready, then they'd _all_ go to Konoha. He turned to the large white haired man stretched out on the silk covered bed.

"So you're sure you understand how this will work? I'll be there, in your mind, all the time. But you will have control of the mist. Everyone who breaths the mist will be yours, but don't try to control them one at a time or you'll be overwhelmed. Use general commands like 'these are enemies kill them' or 'these are friends protect them'. They're all well trained fighters, they'll take care of the rest by themselves."

"But I _can_ make them do _exactly_ what I want, right?"

"If you focus on one of them, your thoughts will be his thoughts. He will be your tool."

The pirate boss watched the tip of the needle sink into his vein, and the crimson liquid disappear into his arm. Perfect. Now he'd be able to show that white haired ninja freak. He'd have him, his cute chuunin 'friend', and get Gep back where he belonged. Hell he'd make them stand in line waiting for him.

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A/N gets a bit graphic from here on. You won't lose much of the story if you skip it. Reaffirmation of life type stuff :)

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Iruka pulled his mouth away from Kakshi's long enough to suck in a few breaths. "Dammit Kakashi, you could be a bit more helpful.

Kakashi let his arms hang loose by his sides and pouted at the loss of lip to lip contact. "Don't want to help, I want you to undress me."

Steam from the shower had already filled the tiny room with billows of white. It settled in their hair, making Iruka's hang limp and Kakshi's fluff out more wildly than ever. Iruka worked the jounin's shirt over his head.

"So I suppose they cleaned our clothes for us too, these desert snake people… no sand."

"Bet you get pretty good at dealing with sand, living here, after the first couple of dozen centuries." He stole a quick peck before Iruka leaned down to work on removing his pants.

Iruka's heart drummed in his ears as he reached past the open zipper to release Kakashi from his tangle of underwear. For a moment he felt he would pass out with sheer anticipation. He licked a quick swipe along the too enticing organ as he crouched to loosen his leg bindings. It was too slow. Feeding chakra to his hands he ripped them off.

Kakashi grinned in satisfaction as he stepped out of his pants. Iruka was as impetuous as ever.

"You'll need something for lube."

"_I _will?"

Kakashi's voice was a low purr. "Yes you. You're as tense as piano wire, you won't be happy letting me set the pace." He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. "But I warn you, I'll expect a damn good reach around."

Iruka blushed. It _was_ what he wanted, but he'd have been too shy to insist. "Ok lube, what do you think…"

"Improvise Sensei. This is a woman's bathroom. There are probably a hundred different lotions here."

He scanned the bottles on the open shelves, trying to read labels past the steam and condensation. Baby oil, perfect. Dry skin must be a real problem in this climate. He held it up.

"Good."

Kakashi opened the shower door and pulled him in, ignoring the warm water pouring down on them. He took the bottle and poured a little oil in each of their palms before recapping it and carefully setting it in a corner. It wouldn't do for it to get knocked over and spilt. To die from slipping in the shower would be just too embarrassing after everything they'd just been through.

They smeared each other, gently, barely touching, careful not to let it develop into more. That was good too, but not what either of them wanted right now.

Kakashi stretched up into the stream of water, letting it flow through his hair and over his skin. Relishing the stimulation of the tiny jets. He turned around and leaned back into Iruka, deliberately brushing against him.

"Hurry."

"Ah, getting impatient. Now you know how I feel when you take your time."

But in truth he was just as impatient. He guided Kakshi's feet slightly apart.

Kakashi bent his elbows and leaned into the cold stone of the shower wall, his forehead resting against the back of his hands. He felt its hardness in front of him, the hardness of Iruka's muscular body behind him. Kakashi didn't need to be told what to do. He took a deep breath and relaxed, allowing Iruka access. He gasped, then gasped again, as an oil slick hand ran along his length.

"Aah Ruka, more, faster, please."

If he hadn't been so lost in his own pleasure Iruka might have stopped in surprise. Was Kakashi begging him? He obeyed, matching his spikes in pleasure to the movements of his hand. Water ran over them so that their wet bodies sucked together, and slid against each other. Kakashi was part of him, the best part. They were one, a single entity of throbbing pleasure. Reaching forward, one thrust at a time to the ultimate pleasure they could only find together.

Kakashi gave up all control and melted into the man behind, around, inside him. Right now Iruka owned him completely. He was nothing more than a shapeless mass of need, desire and exquisite pleasure. A guttural sound rose through his throat from some deep place and he felt Iruka's teeth pressed against his shoulder as he grinned in acknowledgement. He never made much noise during sex, unlike Iruka, who would sigh and gasp and moan, but who was unusually silent now, locked into the intensity of the moment.

Iruka started to suck at the air in short sharp breaths. This was it, he had to let go. They came together, as one. Then collapsed onto each other on the floor of the shower, panting and gasping.

"Ah, I must have really needed that."

Kakshi turned to face him, one eye open, the red one, spinning and whirling. "Me too. I'll always need you iruka, I can't live without you." He pushed back his dark hair, letting the stream of water mold it into place then licked the water from his lips. "Come on, let's finish and get dressed. My instincts and my nose are telling me that Dakatsu's been cooking up a feast."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N Sorry this is a little late and a bit short. Haven't been feeling well, so i thought I'd better put up what I can while I can.

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Kakashi crouched on a branch near the top of the tallest tree for miles. Through the tangle of twigs above his head he could see the sky, a ceiling of clear pastel blue. And way below his feet the trees' discarded leaves, that had long since lost their autumn colours, to form a blanket of russet brown.

He was perfectly poised, perfectly balanced, perfectly in tune with the tree and with the forest. Kakashi was part of this forest. Just as much as the bare trees, the birds, the squirrels and all the other forest creatures. None had even bothered to look up from their constant foraging when he had appeared amongst them. Clearly not disturbed by his presence at all.

"Ah yes, and for a while I didn't think we'd make it."

Iruka landed on the branch beside him, causing only the slightest movement in the finest twigs. Not enough to make a sound, but he was well aware that Kakashi had caused none at all. He was also slightly out of breath as he sat down on the branch, unwilling to use the energy he would have needed to balance the way Kakashi was.

"Make what?"

Kakashi leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "Smell the air Iruka, can't you tell? The smell of home. We just crossed into fire country. Pakkun should be waiting for us in Konoha. Another day or two to get everything straightened out and then this will all be over. …You can go back to teaching your brats."

Iruka looked at Kakashi's beaming face and upcurved eye, trying to remember the last time he'd seen him look this good. Not that he ever looked bad exactly, even wounded and filthy and half-dead from chakra depletion the man looked good enough to eat. Which, come to think of it, he'd _done…_ many times… when he'd come back from a long mission.

"There's not much that makes you happy like this is there?"

Kakashi grabbed him by the waist and leaned over to press him into a kiss. "You mean apart from you… and Icha Icha? But God this mission must have aged me forty years, that makes me older than Hokage-baabaa. Hell we even di…"

Iruka pecked at his cheek. "We even what?"

A shiver of cold sweat run over him as the doors in his memory slammed shut. So now there was one more place in there he just didn't want to go. This time he'd looked beyond death, and what scared him about it the most, was that he'd liked it.

"Doesn't matter. We did a lot of things."

He snagged Iruka's earlobe between his lips and smiled feeling it glow warm against his tongue, evidence of an equal glow spreading across tan cheeks as he dipped a hand to squeeze his crotch. "Come on, let's keep moving, I'd like to fuck you in a real bed tonight."

Iruka pushed Kakashi back, just a little, but enough to assert himself. "You silver tongued charmer. But just you rememberHatake-san, from the moment we go through that gate you're keeping those hands where I can see them. Both of them." His cross tone faltered, becoming breathless as Kakshi closed in and grabbed him again and started doing something that felt much too good for him to object to. "At least until we're safely behind locked doors."

At that moment Iruka realised that Kakashi's chakra had vanished. He hid his too, and felt Kakashi's hand on the back of his shirt, holding him still, although he hadn't seen him move.

"Cover your face, I smell blood." Kakashi's mask was already in place.

Iruka's mind was staggering to catch up. Kakashi had gone from flirtatious tease to ruthless professional in a heartbeat. "Blood? You mean…"

A kunai thudded into the tree, close enough to shave the hairs from Kakashi's forearm, he didn't need to think in order to recognised the trace of chakra clinging to it. Yanking Iruka towards him, he sent them both falling headlong to the forest floor, barely slowing their fall enough at the last moment for a safe and silent landing.

Once on the ground, Iruka wound a strip of cloth over his mouth and nose, watching every nuance of Kakashi's body language, his heart throbbing, with pride as much as with adrenaline. It wasn't often that he had the chance to see his lover in _this _kind of action. He didn't love Kakahi _because_ he was the awesome copy ninja, but it certainly was one hell of a bonus.

Words reached his ear along a thread of chakra, almost silent but clearly audible. An interesting jutsu, he wondered who he'd copied it from.

"Shit, it's Jiraiya. The blood mist must have him. Who knows who or _what _he thinks we are."

Iruka kept quiet and waited for instructions. He was full of questions, but he knew better than to ask them now.

Kakashi shot him a quick glance. "He was obviously aiming for me, not you. Stay down and I'll lead him away."

There was a swirl of air, the tang of chakra smoke, and before Iruka could decide whether or not to object, he found himself alone amongst the litter of last summer's fallen leaves.

Kakashi already knew the right direction from the trajectory of the kunai. The distance, of course, could be no more than a lucky guess. But it was damn well about time for luck to be on his side for once. He materialised fifty yards behind the toad sennin. An instant later they were both in the same tree, each holding the others wrist with their unarmed hand. And… in that very _same_ instant, they both realised that each of them had had just enough of a momentary opening to get in one clear shot… and that neither of them had taken it.

Kakashi looked at his adversary closely. He seemed lucid. His clear eyes showed their normal depth of intelligence, although his sly twinkle of perversion was currently missing. "You aren't possessed?"

Jiraiya peered back into the uncovered eye. "You're not insane?"

He lowered the arm with the kunai, but still maintained his hold on the other man. "Why would you think I'm possessed?"

Kakashi did the same. "Why would you think I'm insane?"

"I asked first."

Kakashi looked hard for a hint of deceit before releasing his grip. "Because you threw a damn knife at me, and because this area is saturated in blood mist. I've seen a lot of what that can do to people recently."

"Blood mist, I've heard of it. A long time ago. It's a blood limit jutsu, they say the founder of Mist used it."

"He still does. But tell me why you attacked us, and why you thought I was insane."

"Because _your_ damn dog bit me. He's your manifestation isn't he? If he's gone mad it's only reasonable to assume that you have too."

"My dog? You're sure it was my dog?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, but the menace had already gone out of them. "I think I know Pakkun when I see him by now."

Kakashi was genuinely shocked. "Pakkun? _Pakkun_ bit _you_?

Then he caught it. The tiny underneath that told him that this was the truth, but not the whole truth. "What aren't you telling me?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Later. Best get back to your pretty little sensei, he'll be wondering if I've gutted you yet or not."

The air had already started to spin and colour with smoke. "Yeah, like you could take me down old man."

They found Iruka where he'd left him, or rather they didn't. Kakashi smiled, feeling a hint of proprietary pride. The henge was perfect. No one who hadn't just been _right there_ could have guessed that the rock was anything other than what it seemed. Not just it's colour and texture, but the angle of the grain running through it and the species of lichens and mosses clinging to its surface. He shoved Jiraiya aside.

"Hey! Don't sit on him."

Kakashi grabbed Iruka's hand and pulled him from under the legendary sennin, forcing him back to his normal form.

Jiraiya threw back his head and roared with open honest laughter. "Now I know why those damn kids are all so good at henge."

Then just as suddenly he was deadly serious again. He leaned back into a tree, while Iruka relaxed into a sprawl in the leaves near his feet, and Kakshi hopped onto a low branch, crouched like a forest predator, keeping watch over its brood.

Jiraiya sniffed at the air. "So you're saying that it's not just me and that the forest really does smell of blood."

"Then you _have_ noticed it."

"Yes, very faint, most of the time barely there at all. But definitely blood. Dead but not spoiled, like the jutsu-preserved stuff they use at the hospital. Tsunade reeks of it sometimes. And it's got demon in it too, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "It's the blood mist. You breathe it in and it gets into your brain, creates illusions. Have you seen who's creating it?"

"There've been shadows creeping about. Hard to get a fix on, they don't stay in one place for long. At first I thought they were clones, they don't eat or sleep at all that I can tell. There're maybe fifty of them at my best guess. You say they make this mist?"

"That seems to be the way it works. Ketsuekimusha, the Mist sennin infects them with his blood. Then he can use their blood to make mist and anyone who breaths it is controlled too. Or at least can be deluded into doing whatever he wants, so it comes to the same thing. But it's not a genjutsu, it can't be dispelled. The illusion's coming from their own minds so it feels completely real to them."

Jiraiya rubbed his fingertips together, processing this new information and slotting it into the gaps between everything he'd already learned. Blood that takes over other blood and can be spread through the air, as mist.

"So that explains why the sensei is masked too. Very clever. I thought you were getting possessive, didn't want anyone else looking at him."

A white eyebrow twitched very slightly. "You can look all you like, but remember that he's mine. If you touch, I'll kill you."

Jiraiya wiggled his fingers in the air. "Ooo scary, lucky he's not my type. I like breasts."

Iruka was starting to bristle, being discussed as if he wasn't _right there._ He was about to jump up and yell at the two perverts, when _he_ realised something too.

He pointed a finger at the ero-sennin. "But _you_ aren't masked."

Jiraiya just laughed. A deep belly laugh, too loud for the silence of the still trees. "Takes more than a jutsu to confuse my brain. I'd know if I was seeing things."

Kakashi narrowed his eye with suspicion. "You're quite sure about that? You said Pakkun attacked you. Are you sure _that_ wasn't an illusion."

Jiraiya stared back at the copy nin, a hint of anger crossing his expressive face. "Damn right he did. Charged right at me and sank in his teeth. See." He pulled back his sleeve.

Kakashi landed by Jiraiya's side and examined the bite. It was from a dog alright, a small one. Surely even the most realistic illusion wouldn't leave tooth marks.

His eye darted back to the older man's face, warning that he wasn't satisfied yet. "And what else Jijii? We'll count this as 'later', now that Iruka knows I've not been gutted."

Jiraiya's face became a blank slate, his mouth a hard straight line, as he yanked his garment back from his throat. There was a scar, perilously close to his jugular, as if some animal had tried to rip out his throat. It was identical in size and shape to the one on his arm. But this one was old, and had long since healed to a white oval of pits and ridges.

"He bit me once before, a long time ago. When he was your father's."

He paused as if deciding whether to go on, as he caught the emotional flare that Kakashi either didn't, or couldn't, repress.

"They'd just come back from some place in wave, an island. Not long before… well you both know the story."

His father? Kakashi felt the blood drain from his face under the mask. "That wouldn't have been Ookami Island by any chance?"

The sennin shook his great white mane. "Never said. But the truth is he never seemed quite the same after that mission. He just clammed up every time I tried to talk to him about it. Then I went away, and when I came back…"

Kakashi sat down and gripped Iruka's hand as if afraid that he might fall, although he was already on the ground. Had it been true? Had the house _really_ smelled of blood in those weeks and months before his father's suicide? That was the way he remembered it, but he'd always assumed it was just a nasty trick of his imagination. That the smell of blood that day, when he'd come home and found him, had been so overwhelming that it had clouded his memory of things ever being different.

For just how many decades had the old mist sennin, Ketsuekimusha, been living on Ookami Island _before _Itachi found him? And who else had he destroyed in his efforts to manufacture an heir for his foul demon blood?

Kakashi felt his spine arch and stiffen as he pulled himself to his feet. His eye darted from one man to the other, the legendary sennin and the chuunin schoolteacher. Two men that he loved and respected beyond all others, but in such very different ways. It was as if they represented all of Konoha and everything and everyone he cared for, bracketed between them.

"They're waiting. These shadows in the woods. Waiting for something to happen in Konoha before they move in with the mist. And I think we found out what they're waiting for, back in the desert. If you're right and Pakkun's been affected by the mist, he won't have got through with my message. So we're the _only _ones who know. They have a plan to smuggle in bombs, blow up the mission room, and take out the Hokage tower and everyone inside along with it. And that's just the start."

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In the heart of Konoha, in the mission room, just outside the Hokage's office, Shizune waited patiently for the last of the former rookie eight plus team Gai to arrive.

Naruto appeared in the doorway and stood there, panting. "Damn alarm clock. But at least I know I'm not dead last this time, I passed the Nara house on my way over and it didn't look as anyone there was even awake yet."

A lazy voice spoke from the far corner. "If you're talking about me, I was the first one here. Well to be more accurate I never left. I fell asleep yesterday going through those boring scrolls."

Shizume smiled one of her rare smiles. "Don't worry Naruto, you aren't late. In fact you're all early. I must say I'm very impressed with everyone's enthusiasm."

She went back to her normal expression of quiet intensity. "But I hope you all realize that this won't be an easy mission. We really don't know the nature of the threat to Konoha, so all high ranked shinobi are still being kept close to home. You won't have any back up."

As she was speaking she stepped around to the back of the mission room desk, and took three scrolls from a top drawer.

"I divided the names you gave me geographically. Team Gai, you're a little older so I'd like you to go east. We haven't heard much from Orochimaru recently, but he's a threat that can't be overestimated. Team Asuma, I'd like you to go west. Team Kurenai north. I know I don't really need to say this, but all of you watch what you say and to whom you say it. Don't give any hint that Hatake-san may be in trouble. Both he and Konoha have many rivals and many enemies, neither needs to advertise their vulnerability."

Hinata quietly slipped her hand into the older woman's. "Don't worry Shizune-sama. We'll be careful."

Shizune smiled again as she folded her fingers around the gentle, but deceptively powerful, white palm. "I know you will, you are Konoha ninjas."

Naruto watched the nine shadows vanish. "Shit. Why can't we go too? I want to find Kakashi-sensei."

His pink-haired teammate grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards the file room. Smiling a bit too brightly. "We're doing our part too. Come on, Tsunade-sama just unsealed the first batch of classified scrolls for us."

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From the slight emotional distance from which he viewed almost everything that _didn't_ directly involve Iruka, Kakashi couldn't help noticing that, if the situation hadn't been so deadly serious, Jiraiya's response would have been very funny. He did horrified surprise so perfectly.

"Bombs? In the mission room?"

"The evidence is pretty clear."

"Shit. With this emergency most of our best people will be hanging out there. We have to get the place evacuated." About ten miles, he could do it in five or six jumps. Jiraiya prepared to teleport.

A flare of gold lit up the sky in the direction of the village, followed almost immediately by red. Red light so evil that they caught enough to feel sickened all those miles away.

Then the boom reached them, like a second blow, harder and more savage than the first.

Kakshi's first reaction was to check Iruka, who stood stunned, watching a dark plume of smoke coil up from his home, spreading to darken the sky above it like a veil of mourning.

Jiraiya put his arm around his student's student, pulling him close so that he could whisper in his ear. "Kakashi, that red that followed the explosion, it was demon chakra, and it wasn't the same as the stuff out here in the forest."

This time they both looked towards the teacher.

Kakashi kept his voice equally low. "I know, Naruto, I felt it too."

"Do you think he realised?"

"Iruka's a lot smarter than you give him credit for Jijii. Even if he didn't recognise it, he'd know it's demon. How many demons are likely to be in the Hokage tower?"


	26. Chapter 26

Just outside the forests of Fire country, a white haired sennin was talking to another white haired man, while a third man with glossy black hair, waited nearby. The three subjects of their conversation mirrored this particular trio in a way that was almost uncanny.

The old man brushed fluffy white hair away from the younger man's forehead and placed a finger in its centre. "Right, you almost have it. Now focus, see with the mist, don't try to look through to the other side, you can't. Only those within the mist are visible to you."

He squinted his eyes, and made an aggravated grunting noise. "I can't see a bloody thing, that's what I've been telling you. I could see alright before, when I was using that sand woman. But all I'm getting here is sort of shifty feelings."

"Of course you can't actually see, we don't have any eyes out there. If we sent in one of our people they would notice in an instant, and kill him. And after all the trouble and expense these ninjas cost us that would be a waste, you should know, you took most of our money. No, use the mist to feel for them, feel what they're thinking and saying. That's often more reliable than eyes anyway."

Deep in Konoha's forest Iruka took a step closer to Kakashi and Jiraiya, who seemed deep in conversation. Not to hear what they were saying, he could do that easily enough if he wanted to, unless, of course, they didn't want him to. No, the reason he wanted to be closer to his lover was purely protective, because he was starting to feel seriously creeped out. Which was worse , in many ways, than his anxiety over the explosion. And, although intellectually he knew that Kakashi surpassed him in every possible way, he was a Konoha ninja and the instinct to protect those he cared for deeply, ran deeper still.

Kakashi noticed, but of course he noticed everything, so Iruka was feeling uneasy. He redoubled vigilance over his outward expressions. Iruka wouldn't know from him how uneasy _he _was feeling too.

"So Jiraiya, you'll go to Hidden Mist, see what you can find out? I'd go myself but I can't leave…" Kakashi glanced in Iruka's direction. "And he'll need to find out what's happened to his other friends too."

"Ok, you've got good instincts kid. So did your father."

A huge toad appeared between them, or rather not quite between, because Jiraiya was perched on its head. "Come on old friend. We're going on holiday, back to the swamps."

Back beyond the Konoha border, the other white haired sennin smiled with smug satisfaction. "Right, did you feel one of them leave? Now we've got Hatake alone. Well except for that chuunin, but he won't be any trouble, not for this guy here. It's time to make our move. I need you to take him out, permanently."

"Kill him? Why? I… I had something very special planned for these two."

"Yes, Kill him. He's too dangerous, he got away from you before remember, drugged and sealed. And he's the Akatzuki's choice, over you. We can't have two Ketsuekimusha's ruling Konoha."

The big white haired man snorted and stamped his foot, like a bad tempered horse. "Ok, I'll make do with the chuunin, better than nothing I suppose. He looks as if he squeaks a real treat when he's tied down right, and he has pretty eyes."

The old man stared at him long and hard. "Don't start thinking with your dick, at least not yet. You've got to win first. Make sure you keep control, but don't get in the way of _his_ instincts." He flicked a finger behind to indicate the large man standing impassively a little way off. "This one's special, you won't find another. You think you're strong but you wouldn't be half a match for him. Not even if you trained for a million years."

The pirate gritted his teeth. There was something about that stare that was scarier than anything in his worst nightmares. The old freak's amber gaze seemed to penetrate to the centre of his soul, making every weakness and every insecurity bubble to the surface. Despite his overbearing pride and his determination not to _this time_, he faltered and looked away.

"Yeah, I get it. He's the fastest, most powerful, most incredible ninja you've ever got your claws into. But big muscles don't count for much with these freaks. That other one's just a scrawny weasel, but I've never seen strength like his nowhere, and I've been around."

The sennin smiled indulgently. "You'll understand once you see him in action, but you have to move in closer, you won't have control from this distance. Not yet, it will come with practice. Release your body and flow through the mist, the way I showed you before. He'll follow, he has his own techniques."

"You ain't coming?"

"Regrettably. If I'm gone much longer our Akatzuki friend will come looking for me, and that would be… unfortunate. Just concentrate on winning."

Kakashi grabbed for Iruka's hand. "Can you keep up? Or should I go ahead?"

Iruka squeezed the fingers folded into his in a moment of indecision. It wasn't a question, it was an offer. He _couldn't_ keep up and they both knew it, but he needed to be in Konoha _now_, and he'd get there faster with Kakashi's help than without it. He tightened his grip.

"Let's go."

The forest became a single blur of motion. This was jounin level skill, maximum speed with minimum chakra use. A feeling of being at one with, and being in control of, the laws of nature. The way a hawk must feel as it stooped from the heavens in a long dive.

Then just as suddenly they stopped. Kakshi wrapped his arms around Iruka's chest to keep him from falling from the fork of a silver birch. They'd landed high enough to see through the almost bare canopy, yet low enough to be covered by the taller parts of the underbrush.

"Can you feel the intent Iruka? Someone's blocking our path. I'm not sure who, it's so familiar I hardly noticed at first, but it's… different." Kakashi almost said more, but thought better of it. The dissonance in the sensation, friend _and_ foe, good _and_ evil, was making his skin crawl.

Then they saw him, silhouetted ahead, where the road cut through and the forest had been cleared to allow an unobstructed view of those approaching the village from the gate tower.

"Kakashi! That… that stance!"

Yes _that _stance. Of all the possibilities, _this_ had to be the one. "I see it. Stay here Iruka, let me deal with this."

Iruka clung to him like a terrified child. His emotional state was already stretched to breaking point, and now it snapped and the flood that was released seemed ready to drown him. He knew that he was crying, knew that he was weak, that he was completely unworthy of the man he was holding onto as if the future depended on it. But he couldn't let go.

He was dimly aware of the dark stain from his tears spreading into Kakashi's shirt, where it pulled up over his throat to form his mask. "No, please. Don't."

Kakashi slipped from his grasp and leaped to the ground. Without thinking or caring about the consequences, he followed.

"But Kakashi, It's Gai. You can't kill Gai, you just can't!" The other half of his thought went unsaid. But they both knew what it was.

Kakashi turned towards him. His sharingan already uncovered as he fixed him with both eyes. Blue and red. Ice and fire. The quiet chill of his completely controlled answer was more frightening than the most furious outburst could ever have been.

"Iruka, you think I don't know that? You think I want to? But I can't let him get into Konoha, not like this. I have to do whatever it takes to stop him. Whatever! Do you understand? And if I fail you have to survive to get there first and warn everyone. So just… just get away from here, as far as you can, ok."

Iruka heard the words, but they didn't make any sense. Kakashi was like a stranger, some cold heartless killer, masquerading in his lover's skin. He said his name softly, as if to be sure that it was still the same man.

"Kakashi?'

"Fuck Iruka, aren't you listening. Get the hell away… now!"

He watched passively as Kakashi thrust a flattened palm towards him. White energy gathered on its surface for a moment, then a flicker thin lightening bolt, that cracked like a bull whip, sent him flying backwards through the trees. To land smashed into the crown of a large evergreen oak. He lay there, physically half stunned and mentally completely stunned, heart pounding like a jackhammer. He'd never seen Kakashi so determined or, he now realised, so scared. The enormity of the situation came crashing over him. This other Kakashi, the warrior not the lover, was fighting to protect him, and to protect his village. And he'd do it, he'd really do it. He'd fight Maito Gai to the death.

Kakashi watched the boughs of the one leafy tree in the forest fold in to embrace the man he loved. It was like a copy in miniature of that other tree. The tree of life, where either he or his rival would soon be resting, calm, at peace, free from the grief of this world. Very soon.

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Shizune heard the crack of the explosion and saw the plume of smoke just as she was almost back in Konoha. If there could ever be a situation where a curse might cross her lips, this would be it. The first time she goes outside the village to visit Tonton in three days and 'it' finally happens. Tsunade's luck at gambling must finally be starting to rub off on her.

It had been a long time since she'd used the power that had earned her jounin rank for anything but healing, but now was _not _the time to hesitate. She raced over the treetops like the shadow of a great bird crossing the sun, over the wall and up the side of the Hokage tower, entering through a shattered window. Stopping just long enough to throw up her breakfast, she tossed aside furniture and filing cabinets, stepped over fallen comrades, and made her way to Tsunade's office.

The door was blocked from the inside so she ripped it off its hinges. Inside she found Tsunade on the floor behind her desk, under the three inches of papers that covered every horizontal surface in the room like fresh fallen snow. Looping an arm around her mentor's waist she dragged her to the window and leapt out onto the roof of the next building, just in time to see med nins and emergency workers arriving on the street below.

"I have Hakage-sama, but there are other casualties, lots of them. Alive as far as I can tell, but they won't be for long if you leave them here. Forget first aid, just get everyone out and into the hospital, put them in the corridors, in the courtyards. Just clear this whole area and keep it clear, use wards if you need to."

The stunned looking med nins below moved in. Now they had orders, orders they could follow. It broke through their horror and confusion and they started to carry them out with robotic speed and efficiency. Shizune left them to it and made her own way to the hospital, checking Tsunade's vitals and appraising her condition as she went. By the time she had her set up on monitors and with an IV, the first of the other casualties were being brought in. She noticed shaggy blond hair peeking from under a blanket.

"Is that Naruto? Bring him here, I want him in isolation, somewhere secure. Maybe in the locked psychiatric ward."

The middle-aged man supporting one end of the stretcher looked up sharply. "Really Ma'am? I mean, I know what… who… this is, but they've been telling us for fifteen years that he's not dangerous."

Shizune couldn't resist the shadow of a smile as she ruffled her fingers through Naruto's hair and traced a finger along the whisker marks on his face. "He's not, if fact I'm fairly sure that he saved the lives of everyone in that explosion. But I have my reasons for wanting to keep him separate, at least for now."

She left him to start organising and checking on her other patients, who were accumulating rapidly, filling every available bed, the emergency cots, and being set down on the floor still on their stretchers. I was going to be a long day, and a longer night. And if her suspicions were right there was nothing she, or anyone, could do but wait.

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Kakashi hopped out of the tree and walked towards his rival. There was nothing to be gained from stealth in this mist. If Gai was trapped in the blood jutsu he was already connected to Ketsuekimusha and he'd know everything the mist could tell him.

"Gai, can you hear me? Break your mind free of him, push him aside."

Gai didn't move. He stood, poised on one leg, arms outstretched. Kakashi closed the remaining distance between them at his fastest speed and landed a kick, square on his forehead. He didn't move, didn't flinch. It was like kicking a mountain.

Hidden in the trees nearby, the pirate boss, Ketsuekimusha's newly minted heir, threw his head back and laughed. Yes, this was more like it. This was true power over men, the kind he'd been searching for his whole life. Maybe he wouldn't kill the white haired freak after all, at least not immediately. Once he was lying helpless on the ground he'd have his new ninja toy rape him, while he watched… from the inside.

Kakashi staggered back from his rebound, then flipped into a graceful landing. He spun off half a dozen shadow clones, then henged three of them into team Gai. It would buy some time and maybe, just maybe, there was something still in the other man that retained his fierce loyalty to his teammates.

There wasn't. Breaking his stance with impossible speed, Gai punched the Neiji clone, sending it flying back into the trees. The Tenten clone threw a shuriken plastered with exploding tags. He dodged it easily, not seeming to even notice as it gouged a huge crater a hundred feet away, then tossed a shuriken of his own, that made the clone explode in a puff of smoke. Kakashi released the Lee clone himself. He didn't need to watch Gai beat up his star protégé.

What other strategy could he try? A genjutsu might work, but could it deceive the mist? Gai's taijutsu was most effective in the open, he filled the area with the illusion of leafy trees. Gai clapped his hands together and released a wave of fire that demolished them and the remaining clones, while Kakashi fell to the ground huddled under a chakra shield. Under the cover of the attack he slipped underground. Resurfacing right under his opponent and throwing him high in the air. As he fell he enclosed him in a bubble of water, the water prison, it was worth a try. But with the gates wide open Gai had no difficulty in shattering it completely. He landed hard, but in a fighting stance, hands still blazing with flame. The fire, the smoke from the scorched ground, and the red mist swirling in the air, made the whole place look like a scene from the pits of hell.

So. No half measures. If he had to, he had to. Kakashi started gathering chakra for a chidori attack, with something extra, he couldn't take the risk that Gai would be fast enough to dodge it. _This_ chidori would explode in a ball of plasma, he'd be lucky to survive himself. He watched Gai watching the white electrical energy compressing into a ball between his hands. Then suddenly he saw him dart into the trees.

Kakashi turned to track him, even Gai couldn't outrun a chidori. What he saw made him stop and take back the gathered chakra. Gai had hold of Iruka, one hand on his arm and one on his throat.

As he hesitated the red spun into a denser cloud in front of him and someone stepped out. Someone completely unexpected.

"Kakashi-kun, that's your name isn't it? If I remember right."

Kakashi snarled at the pirate boss in disbelief.

"Now I'm the one with the power Kakashi-kun. Wolf's blood, one tiny thought from me, and your pretty boyfriend dies."

Kakashi had him on the ground with a kunai at his throat in an instant.

"Don't underestimate me, Gai never would. Let Iruka go and I'll let you go. The two of us will finish this the way we started, as a clean fight."

"A clean fight between ninjas? That's about as likely as a clean fight between pirates. We both fight to win. But I'm not unreasonable. I'll let you have him, if you give me something I want in return."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and pressed the knife down so that it scored the top layer of skin, not quite deep enough to draw blood. The pirate didn't flinch, he had guts, he'd give him that.

"Don't bother looking at me like that. Gep. Tell me where he is, that's what I want. And no tricks this time."

Gai snapped Iruka's hairband and combed his fingers through his hair. Then he kissed him, forcing his tongue into his mouth, running his hands down his sides and clutching his buttocks. Iruka squeaked in shock as he struggled uselessly against the jounin's iron grip.

The pirate licked his lips, breathing hard. "Ah yes, this one does taste good. Maybe I should take him with me anyway, take off his silly mask and put him under the power of the mist. I'll need something to fuck along the way, unless you'd like to show me in person. Then I can fuck you."

Kakashi bit the sides of his tongue, steeling himself against the provocation. "Why don't you just leave that poor kid alone. If you can control this mist you can have anyone you want. What's so special about him?"

"If you really want to know I'll tell you. If you'll give me some room." He pointed to the kunai still pressed against his trachea.

Kakashi pulled it back and let him sit up.

He rubbed at his throat, shooting the ninja a calculating glance. "Special. That's just what he is, special. I knew it the first time I saw him. That big old steamer we used to get about in, a good ship, fast when she got going, but old. She was always breaking down, well she washed up on some place, Mist or Cloud, I don't remember, so we went looking for any parts we could find to fix up her engines. And there was this kid, fourteen or fifteen years old, looking at me like I was dinner and he'd been starved for a month. Not when he thought I could see him mind, he was too shy for that. But I knew what he wanted."

Kaashi kept his expression carefully neutral. "So you gave it to him."

"Ah yes, and he was _so_ sweet. I got him a bit tipsy, it didn't take much, then he was all over me. I'd never had sex like that before, not with no one. What I usually like is to feel a man under me, writhing and squirming, in my power. But not with him, not Gep. The way he kissed, and touched, it was good like I'd never thought possible."

It was harder not to react to this. "So you kidnapped him."

"Of course, I wasn't about to leave a gem like that behind."

"So you kidnapped him." Kakashi was almost there. The biggest problem with having more than a thousand jutsu's to choose from, was sorting through the damn things. If he could just keep the thug talking for a few more…"

"I was good to him, gave him everything he wanted.

"Yea, that's why he left with me, because you made him so happy."

"Fuck you!"

Through the sharingan, Kakashi tracked the moment that Gai released Iruka to lunge towards him, along with the pirate, moving at a fraction of the speed. Good, he had it, perfect timing. He hurled a handful of ice needles at Gai, that landed studded into the muscles of his neck like the spiked collar of a war-dog. Stabbed one into the pirate's neck, and snatched Iruka to safety in a single move.

Safely on the grass, a few yards from the unconscious bodies, he held him tight, not sure whether to kiss him or slap him. "You didn't go. I told you to go."

Iruka didn't answer. Gai had kissed him, Gai! His brain seemed frozen, as if it couldn't quite process the idea.

"Iruka! Why didn't you go?"

Slowly Kakashi's voice got through to him, one syllable at a time. "Kakashi… Ah… I'm…I'm sorry, but I couldn't leave you. I'm sorry, I just put you in more danger didn't I?"

"No. You saved me. Saved all of us. When he sent Gai after you, it gave me just the break I needed."

Gai, that name evoked extremely mixed feelings right now. "Gai! Is he…"

"No, just paralysed, it will wear off in a day or so. I'm not even sure where that jutsu came from. I don't remember copying it. I suppose I must have been pretty distracted at the time. But I needed something that would stop him cold without being a risk to you, and that's what happened."

"Yeah, ice needles. If they won't stop someone cold then I don't know what will." Iruka pointed to the pirate boss. "What about him? Should we kill him."

Kakashi shook his head. "Believe me, I'd love to. But if the old wolf sennin is already dead, killing him will kill everyone in the jutsu. Come on help me get Gai home so that we can ckeck out that explosion." He leaned in for a kiss.

Iruka put his hand over his mouth. "Eep no, not now, I taste of Gai."

Ugh, what an unfortunate thought. Kakashi smiled his trademark smile. "Maybe that's not so bad, I get to kiss two for one."

Iruka grinned but hit him anyway. "You damn pervert, you know if I didn't love you, I'd really hate you sometimes."


	27. Chapter 27

Kakashi hoisted Gai onto his back, in the next life, if he had a next life, if he _had_ to have a rival, he was most definitely choosing a lighter one. He adjusted the dead weight across his shoulders and as he did, Gai's face intruded on his field of vision, mouth agape, eyes rolled back in their sockets, like peeled cooked eggs nestled into the thick black fur of his eyebrows. He cringed under his mask. And… he mentally added, if at all possible, a prettier one.

Iruka saw Kakashi's expression and mercifully took off Gai's headband. The way it was holding his hair perfectly in place, even upside down, was just freaky. That was when he noticed that the headband was missing its Leaf insignia. It was blank. With a sickened feeling in the pit of his stomach he stuffed it into his pocket. So Gai had been robbed of everything, his memory, his personality, even his identity. All he had left was his strength and his skill, to be used as a mindless tool, a sick twisted version of the perfect shinobi. Would this have been _his_ fate too, if Kakashi hadn't been there to save him? Could it be the fate of all his friends? A renewed sense of urgency flowed through him.

"Come on Kakashi, let's hurry. We've already lost enough time."

They raced towards the ominous dark cloud still spreading over the village. But as they came within sight of the gate tower Iruka stopped them suddenly. With the weight he was carrying and its greater momentum, Kakashi stopped several paces ahead. He turned, ready to ask what the problem was, but didn't need to. As they had moved closer, the column of smoke still feeding the cloud had split into two. A thin trickle was rising from the Hokage tower, but by far the denser darker part was coming from another source, a few miles to the east…the academy!

He lashed out an arm. "Wait!"

Kakashi grabbed Iruka's shoulder as he lunged forward, then staggered to rebalance Gai's weight. Already his mind was working, analysing, trying to find reason where there was none to be found. Taking out the Hokage tower was undoubtedly a massive blow to the village defenses. Orochimaru had shown that two tears before. But why attack the children? It didn't make sense. The apparent randomness of an attack on the school was just too terrifying. There had to be another explanation.

"Iruka, was there anything happening at the academy today? Any special event or meeting?"

The teacher opened and closed his mouth a few times before he was able to coax out some words. "Not… not as far as I know. In fact, I… I'd half expect everyone to be out in the training fields. What day of the week is it?"

"Thursday."

"Yeah, then definitely. The kids' attention span is shot by lunchtime this late in the week. We'd all have them outside sparing or doing weapons practice."

So it was even stranger. Why destroy an almost empty building?

By now they were in front of the gate. It was unguarded and hanging slightly open. In Kakashi's mind Konoha seem ominously like Maito Gai, slack jawed and unaware. He nudged it and tendrils of red floated out to meet them. So the village was already flooded with blood mist.

"Kakashi, what the…"

"Iruka! Your mask." Iruka's hand went to his face to adjust and tighten the cloth wrapped around it. Then he waited in silence.

Kakshi knew that he was waiting for him. Relying on him to have the skill and the instincts to make the right decision. Their home had become a battlefield and _he_ was in command.

"I'll go on ahead and take Gai over to the hospital, then I'll meet you at the academy. But be careful, please. There's a lot about this that just doesn't add up."

Iruka nodded and took off. Trying, unsuccessfully, to mask the anxiety in his chakra.

Kakashi watched the red fog swallow him, knowing that he had to let him go. That he had no choice but to choose duty over love. He thought of Dakatsu, her weathered face with its unfaltering kindness. And he smiled, drawing strength and resolve from the memory. Gai wasn't lost yet… and neither was Konoha.

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The village was eerily quiet, and apparently deserted as Kakashi ran past all the usual landmarks. Everything was tinted rosy red, like places in a dream, except that this dream had turned into a nightmare.

Once he was near the centre of town he paused, weighing the advantages of continuing at ground level or taking to the rooftops. Then, without warning, he was surrounded by people. Villagers poured from the buildings and side streets. A mob of civilians, armed with brooms, sticks, garden hoes, all bearing down on him with impressive killing intent and ferocity that was downright scary. Even if he didn't feel particularly threatened by it.

Of course… the mist. Everyone in the village was his enemy now. But he could hardly stop to wrestle each one to the ground so that he could mask them long enough for them to come to their right senses. And he certainly couldn't kill them or wound them seriously enough to stop them either. Shit, this was getting complicated.

With a boost of chakra, he landed on the roof above. Then he teleported just out of the line of sight, before doubling back a few blocks and continuing on his way. He hoped Iruka wasn't having the same kind of problems.

Once at the hospital he walked down the outer wall, feeling for friendly and familiar chakra inside. A bright powerful presence almost popped out at him. Someone was using a lot of chakra, someone powerful. He recognised it as Shizune. Good, she would do nicely, but in this mist he couldn't afford to take chances. He slipped in through the window fully stealthed. She was in an interior room, with about a dozen other people, half of them unconscious. Kakashi left Gai slumped in a chair and made his way towards her.

The first room was small, little more than a closet, cluttered with monitors and other equipment on carts, haphazardly arranged against one wall. The next had injured people on gurneys, and one nurse in surgical scrubs, flitting from one to another adjusting IVs. There was a dull ache of evil, of poison, clinging to them, that had nothing to do with their bleeding and hastily bandaged wounds. It was familiar, but he ignored it for now. He was still stealthed and the nurse didn't see him walk past and open the door at the far end of the room.

Shizune did.

Kakashi caught the scalpel less than an inch from his remaining eye. "Careful. That's one of the few things I still have left that my mother gave me."

Shizune bowed. "Hatake-san. I'm sorry, you startled me. We'd just about given you up for dead." She started to reach for the surgical mask covering her lower face.

Kakashi leapt forward to stop her.

"No! Shizine-san. Leave on the mask."

He glanced around the room to the other med-nins and nurses.

"All of you. You must keep your masks on. They're the only thing protecting you. I'll explain later. Right now you must mask everyone you can. Including everyone in the hospital. If they breathe in this red mist that's filling the air they will be under the control of our enemy. Our own people will turn against us."

Shizune picked up the careful urgency in his voice. "I'll see to it. But that's not what you interrupted my surgery for is it Hatake-san?"

Kakashi tilted his head to one side. He would have liked to scratch it, but he was in an operating room and he didn't want to shed more hairs and grime than he had to.

"No. I brought Gai with me. He's under the control of a sennin using a powerful jutsu. He tried to kill me. Right now he's unconscious but Tsunade-sama needs to see him. And he needs to be kept somewhere secure. Very secure. Just in case."

If Shizune was shocked she didn't show it, the woman must have nerves of steel. But being Tsunade's closest friend for so many years, it probably came with the territory.

"Hokage-sama is… incapacitated. But I'll see what I can do as soon as I've dealt with my most urgent cases. Meanwhile I'll have him put in the room next to Naruto's. He'll be safe there.

"Naruto!' Kakashi took a step back. "You mean Naruto's still alive? But we saw… after the explosion…"

Shizune didn't look up from stitching and healing, her voice was barely more than a whisper, but Kakashi could plainly hear the relief and affection in it.

"Yes, he's alive. The bomb had been planted in the record room, he was in there with Sakura when it detonated, and to protect him the kyuubi must have smothered the force of the explosion. I'm sure it wasn't its intention, but it saved everyone in the building. Although now they're all suffering from the poison effect of its chakra. I just hope we got them away from it in time."

So that's what he had felt in the other room. The kyuubi's chakra. The good news was that everyone caught in the explosion had survived, the bad news was that they'd all be out of commission for a while. The mist in the village meant that Ookami Ketsuekimusha, or his successor, was already here with his ninja fighters. And judging by the actions of the villagers, everyone else in the village who wasn't protected by a mask, was probably under his spell by now as well. The odds were daunting to say the least.

He waved two fingers in a lazy circle. "Yo. I'll leave Gai with you then. Later."

Time to find Iruka, he'd done his duty.

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The teacher pulled a scorched and smoldering blanket over the body of the old custodian. He was burned almost beyond recognition, and he had only been able to find one of his legs. He'd always disliked him, as a kid he'd hated him. He was lazy, careless in his work and once, when he was a boy, he had beaten him savagely. Ironically it had been one of the few times when he _hadn't_ been plotting mischief. He was only hiding in the closet because he needed to be alone with his grief for a while.

Of course he should have reported him and had him fired fourteen years ago. But he was just a kid and was too afraid, too confused and had felt much too powerless, so he'd hidden his bruises and kept quiet. However, even in his most bitter moments, he would never have wished _this_ on the man. Thankfully it was the only body he'd found. It seemed that he was right and the school had been almost empty when the bomb went off.

He checked through the rest of the building systematically. Most of the classrooms were damaged, and many were completely destroyed, but the gymnasium where he'd entered, was relatively untouched. He made his way back towards it, planning to check one more time, before making his way to the underground shelters where his fellow teachers had undoubtedly taken the children.

Halfway across the scrubbed wooden floor he stopped. He may not be the best shinobi in Konoha, but he knew when he was being watched. He formed his hands into the first seal for an attack, then a midget burst from behind a pile of exercise mats and accosted his legs. Glomp.

"Iruka-sensei! I knew it was you, I just knew!"

"Hanabi? Hyuuga Hanabi?" He looked into the white featureless eyes as they filled with tears. Lotus petals under water.

Before he had time to ask what or how, the air was filled with high-pitched voices.

"Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!"

Dozens of children erupted from the edges and corners of the room, surrounding him with tearful panicked faces. Still more were running in through the door that opened to the training fields beyond. Some were carrying or dragging toys, blankets and younger siblings. He sat down and signaled for them to do the same, pulling Hanabi onto his lap. She reached towards the cloth covering his lower face.

"Did you get hurt Iruka-sensei?"

"No. No I'm fine, but shush, shush now everyone. Please tell me what happened. Where are your teachers?"

A short, bright-eyed boy with a wickedly cute grin stood up. Konohamaru, well that figured.

"The damn teachers have gone ape, crazy, they all went Mizuki-sensei and tried to kill us."

Iruka winced at the casual reference to one of his more painful experiences. "I'm sure no one wanted to kill you. Can you tell me exactly what happened?

Konohamaru shouted down the chorus of other voices. "Shut up, shut up, all of you. I'm the one who's telling."

Iruka listened carefully. Distilling from the exaggerations and misunderstandings that the teachers had acted responsibly and protectively right after the explosion, but had quickly turned on their students. Even attacking them with their own training weapons.

It was the mist. The evil red mist that had reached out to beckon them in through the village gate. It had to be. It must have effected the teachers already.

"Did anyone get hurt?"

A skinny dark-haired boy eased himself to his feet. There was an ugly gash the length of his thigh, crudely bandaged. "Moegi first aided it for me Iruka-sensei. It doesn't hurt so bad."

Despite his brave words the boy was pale and trembling. Iruka moved Hanabi aside, then stood and took the boy's arm, leading him towards the medical cabinet at the back of the room.

"You did well Moegi, but I think it's time to change the dressing. Anyone else?"

A half dozen others with lesser wounds joined them. While he used his modest knowledge of healing jutsu's and copious quantities of bandages to patch them up, Iruka did a quick head count. About eighty kids, ranging from five years old to twelve. Not enough.

"Where are all the others?"

Konohamaru, the self-appointed spokesman, did his own quick appraisal. "I 'spect they're still back in the woods hiding. D'you want me to go and get them Iruka-sensei?"

"No! No, you all stay here. I'll go."

In the outpouring of frightened protests, no one noticed the swirl of leaves and smoke just inside the doorway. But as it cleared, there was some note of powerful reassurance in the newcomer's voice that silenced everyone.

"Quiet now. Don't you know to listen to your teacher?"

He stood outlined against the golden light of the doorway, hands in his pockets, fluffy hair flopped casually askew, looking for all the world as if he'd just rolled out of some lucky bastard's bed. Sharingan Kakashi, the living legend, and one of the greatest heroes in Konoha.

Every heart in the room fluttered, but none more than Iruka's. "It's ok everyone. Hatake-san is here now. He'll protect us."

Iruka didn't actually see Kakashi navigate through the sea of children, but suddenly he was by his side, smiling, reaching, groping. "I'll do my best. How many casualties?"

Only the most observant students noticed Iruka blushing and slapping at something under his shirt, but they all picked up on the icy tone in his voice as he took two steps back. "Only one that I could find, the custodian. But all the other teachers are gone… the mist…"

Iruka saw the subtle change in tension in Kakashi's body as he casually scratched the back of his head. "I see."

"Hatake-san, there are children still hiding in the woods. I need you to find them and bring them here. Then we'll all go over to the shelters together."

"No."

If the children were surprised to hear their teacher telling the famous copy ninja what to do, they were _astounded _to hear _anyone_ brave enough to contradict Iruka-sensei.

The gymnasium became as silent as a tomb.

Even Kakashi, when he spoke, betrayed a hint of nervousness. "No, that's where they'll expect us to go. We should stay here, it's the most heavily damaged building in the village, and that makes it the safest one. No one will look for us here."

Iruka wanted to kiss him, but settled for a smile.

"You're a genius Kakashi."

The next instant Kakashi was in the doorway again, two fingers raised in his offhanded salute. "Yo. Just as long as you think so Iruka-sensei."

It wasn't until after he'd disappeared that Iruka had a chance to wonder just when he'd planted the wet kiss on his cheek that he could still feel tingling, and squeezed his butt hard enough to make it glow.

"Right everyone. Let's pull out all these mats and arrange them so that we have somewhere to sleep tonight. Konohamaru and Moegi make sure that the bathrooms are still working and I'll see if I can open the storeroom with the snacks and bottled water."

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It was some time since Jiraiya had been in the Hidden Village of Mist. And for good reason, he despised just about everything about the place.

From his days as an academy student, he had lived by the ethic that the world was a safer, happier place with ninjas, than it would be without. Of course he was well aware that not all their missions were unambiguously helpful, or even benign. But if the upper classes were resolutely determined to have bloody rivalries, and to assassinate each other from time to time, it was much better that those assassinations be carried out by efficient, disinterested, third parties. If they used members of their own clans, or worse, involved servants and subordinants, the feuds would spread and endure from generation to generation. The quick painless death of one man, even an innocent man, and he had soon learned how very few of them were truly innocent, could prevent the deaths and suffering of dozens or hundreds more.

In fact he had long suspected that the mere existence of the shinobi villages discouraged most of the petty wars that other parts of the world seemed more prone to.

But Mist was different. Even in his earliest memories it was a place where suffering and bloodshed were glorified and reveled in, rather than seen as sad necessities. It was a situation that had improved a little in recent years. He had worked with his sensei, The Third, for decades to foster stronger links between the villages. The combined chuunin tests had been a major success. And slowly, very slowly, many in Mist had come to agree that protection, not subjugation, should be the highest goal for a ninja. But there were still many who saw this as weakness, and who reminisced about the old days when a glimpse of a masked Mist nin cast fear into the hearts of friends and enemies alike.

And he had another problem with the place. The women were, quite frankly, not worth spying on. He had yet to see _one_ with the kind of ripe luscious figure that made his hands tremble and his mouth drool. The sooner he could find out what he needed to know, and get back and feast his eyes on Tsunade's breasts, the better.

Well, time to get to work. In the dim recesses of his memory, he was sure he'd heard of a religious order dedicated to maintaining The Ketsuekimusha's tomb. If they didn't know the goods on Mist's founder then surely no one did. Unfortunately he knew nothing about them, except that they wore red robes marked with the symbols for blood and warrior, inscribed within the outline of a wolf's head.

The hiss of silk made him look up from under the hood of the heavy cloak he was wearing. Well, if fate wanted to make a liar out of him he wasn't about to complain. He watched as the rounded sinuous hips strolled past, just below the fall of a long chestnut ponytail. As it swayed back and forth across the crimson robe, it revealed the mark of a wolf with two black kanji for eyes. Blood and warrior. Bingo! As soon as he had what he considered a discrete distance, he followed.

The ponytail led him out of the stockaded wall and into the marsh. Maybe she had a favourite bathing place, out here in the brackish water. He'd heard people say that it was very good for delicate complexions, that and the mud from the salt flats. He's slip into the water beside her, pretend that he'd been there for a while, half-asleep, and strike up a conversation.

His quarry stopped and looked around suspiciously, Jiraiya turned sideways and disappeared behind a clump of reeds. When he looked back she was up to her knees in water that was staining her leggings and the hem of her robe dark with wetness. He waded in too, and immediately felt lightheaded and dreamy. A genjutsu, the perfect excuse to make a move, and in a state of post coital bliss she'd tell him anything.

By now only her head was above water, he closed the gap and reached forward, brushing his fingers against her cheek and feeling… oh shit… stubble. No man alive was entitled to hips like those.

Oomff.

He felt the punch hit his stomach and the wall hit his back, it was a good thing Tsunade kept him in training for this kind of abuse. When he opened his eyes he found himself sitting on the floor of a stone chamber, looking up at the sweet faced man bending over him, with a metal priest's staff held in a very threatening manner over his head. An instant later the priest was on the floor and he was holding the staff.

He had no problem with pretty men, young Kakashi's academy sensei was very easy on the eye, but pretty men and plain women in the same town was a combination he preferred not to have to think about. He offered the staff back to its owner and pulled him to his feet, checking out his chest one more time. Someone who looked like this really should have breasts.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I promise I'm not your enemy."

There was no change in the priest's level of suspicion. "If you are a tomb robber you'll find nothing here."

"No I can see that."

Jiraiya pointed to the transparent coffin that was displayed on a slab of black obsidian in the centre of the chamber. Even in the flickering flames of the two torches that provided the only light, it was obvious that it was empty.

The priest walked over to it and started polishing it with a silk cloth. "What's it to you?"

Jiraiya joined him and traced a finger around the wolfs head engraved on the surface, identical to the one on the priests robe, then examined the delicately worked sutras down both sides.

"Why do you keep this here? Is it a sacred monument to your founder? From what I've heard he's not such a good candidate for sainthood."

Explosive laughter echoed off the hard walls. Then the priest looked at him hard, as if making a judgement on whether to trust him.

"Hardly. This may be empty now, but once we've sealed the bastard in he's never getting out. There's a legend that he'll return one day, did you know that? That's why we keep this here, buried in the marsh. To be ready for him. It cost the power and lives of three good men to create it. But would you believe that there are those who'd welcome him. They have long memories for the power and influence that Hidden Mist once had, and short ones for what the people here went through to make it that way. We've dedicated our lives for three generations now to make sure that the past stays in the past."

Jiraiya felt his fingers starting to twitch. Perhaps what Kakashi had said was true, maybe the original Ketsuekimusha _was_ still alive.

He almost wrapped an arm around the beautiful androgynous creature before him, but held back. He really didn't need another bruise. "You know, I think we can work together, for our mutual benefit. Could we go somewhere more comfortable to talk? A tearoom perhaps?"

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Kakashi was trying to coax yet another little girl down from a perch at the top of yet another pine. He'd have climbed up after her, but the tree _was_ really prickly, even for a pine, and his sensitive skin was starting to feel the effects of getting too many small children out of too many spiky trees. Suddenly a toad almost half as tall as the tree appeared, with a garishly painted, exotically robed, white haired man on its head. The girl fainted, fell, and Kakshi dived to catch her before she hit the ground.

He looked up at Jiraiya's face, looking down. "You're the one answering to Iruka for this Jijii. He doesn't like to see his students carried in unconscious."

The toad poofed away, leaving its passenger to strike a dramatic pose.

"Let me guess, the teachers and parents have all gone crazy with this red mist, like your dog did. So Iruka has single handedly taken it on himself to be guardian and caretaker for every kid in the village. And you're helping because if you don't you won't get any for the foreseeable future."

Kakashi snickered at the little pantomime that came with the last sentence.

"Something like that. The school was hit by a bomb too, so the kids were scared shitless even before their teachers tried to kill them." He pointed to a patch of undergrowth. "I think there's one more hiding in that thicket, then we may have them all."

Jiraiya and Kakashi each deposited a child on an exercise mat. "That's the last of them." Then they wandered to the back of the gymnasium, while Iruka worked on settling the children down for the night.

"So," Jiraiya started, "apart from us three, how many fighters do we have who haven't been taken over? What kind of chance do you give us if it comes to it and we have to fight the whole freaking village?"

Kakshi shook his head. He'd been thinking the same thing since he'd run into the mob of villagers earlier that day. "Shizune and a handful of med-nins, that is until those in the hospital start coming round. There must be others who are out on missions, but the explosion scared off the birds or killed them, and the radio transmitter was destroyed. With no way to contact them, the moment they walk through the gate…"

He pulled himself up onto a table at the back of the room, admiring the view as Iruka bent over. The teacher was almost ready to collapse, but Kakashi knew he wouldn't rest until he'd comforted each child in turn.

Jiraiya watched him watching. Under other circumstances he'd take notes, but give Iruka more cleavage, and a very short skirt. "Kakashi, you've been studying and observing this mist for a while. Why do you think these kids aren't effected by it? They breathe just like everyone else."

"Ah yes, I've noticed that too. It had some effect on Naruto and Sakura, but they weren't completely fooled by it the way Iruka was, me too when I took of my mask. It's almost as if it effects the strong more than the weak, the opposite of a normal genjutsu."

Jiraiya sucked in a deep breath, inflating his broad chest. "But what about me? My strength is legendary, and from what I've seen I'm the only adult in Konoha who's completely immune."

The copy nin looked him up and down slowly, several times. "I think you may have hit on something Jijii. On the surface it seems to be age that makes the difference, except you're the oldest one here. So what do _you_ have in common with these kids?"

The sennin shook his white mane. "My sense of wonder at the world, my openness to new ideas, my sense of fun."

"Your immaturity." Iruka spoke from behind them.

He spun around and scowled at the look of disapproval on the teacher's face.

"What? Nonsense, I'm not immature. In fact my interest are most definitely very adult."

"Don't you mean '_Adult'_? And that's exactly my point."

Kakashi turned and pulled the teacher onto the table next to him, grinning under his mask. "Iruka-sensei, you are a genius and I love you."

Iruka blushed fiercely under _his_ mask, as he felt an arm thread around his waist. "Kakashi no! There are more than a hundred children in this room."

"Then for their sake I should do what I can to boost my resistance to this evil. The better to protect us all." His hand dipped a little lower provoking a tremble in the flesh under it.

Iruka slapped at the offending hand then jumped off the table and stood facing the two white haired geniuses. A scold flashing dangerously in his dark eyes. "Hatake Kakashi, there is a time and a place for everything and this is neither one for that!"

"And that attitude my lovely Iruka is what makes you so completely vulnerable to the blood mist. The very last part of the brain to finish developing is the part that controls impulsive behaviour, in other words maturity. It develops sooner in women than in men, and in some men it never really matures at all… and neither do they."

The two younger shinobi found themselves staring at Jiraiya."

"The blood mist doesn't effect immature minds, that's why it has limited control over the older kids and none at all over the little ones."

Iruka was almost back on Kakashi's lap, although he was too tired to notice the way he'd been manouvered. Nor had he noticed the hand that had slipped back between his thighs, although he was well aware that he was starting to melt into a puddle of blissed-out mush.

Jiraiya really wished he was taking notes. "Well ok it's a fascinating idea, but even if that's true what good does it do us?"

Kakashi wrapped both arms around his lover and whispered just loud enough for the two men to hear. "Iruka, how well can they fight? These kids?"


	28. Chapter 28

Iruka wasn't paying very much attention to what Kakashi was saying at all, the things his sweet lover was doing with his fingers were much too distracting. He'd had a long day, a very long day. He'd covered twice the distance he'd normally expect to be able to, been attacked by Jiraiya, by Gai, by half the village, and had returned to find the academy a smoking ruin. And that was the least of it.

Dealing with and comforting so many scared children, without giving away how scared and in dire need of comfort he was himself, had stretched him past all his limits. But right now Kakashi was holding him, and stroking him, as he so often did when he'd worn himself down too far. Soothing him with the warm glow of diffused sexual pleasure. And Iruka was at that place, on the edge of unconsciousness, where extreme stress-induced exhaustion gave in to sleep. His answer to Kakashi's question slipped out without any input at all from his conscious mind.

"Like tigers."

Suddenly he was wide awake.

"What the hell? Fight? Kakashi… they're just kids, you can't seriously expect them to fight."

He pulled himself away from the safety and comfort of the other man's arms and stood with his back to him. Shaking with indignation anger and fatigue.

Kakashi slipped off the table behind him and Iruka tensed expecting to feel arms wrap around him again, as rage knotted inside him. But instead his elbow was gripped securely and he was half led, half dragged, outside.

The lights of the village shone like ruddy smears through the mist, but directly above, the sky was cold and clear. Spangled with the first faint stars of night and dominated by the orb of the moon, in its last quarter, just off full, it seemed to heavy for the sky to hold. Kakashi reached towards it, as if preparing to catch it in his hand.

"Do you know that there were people who believed that the sky was ruled by wolves? They thought the sun and the moon ran across the sky because wolves were chasing them, and that one day the wolves will catch them and eat them… the beginning of the end of the world."

He circled his arm in a wide arc, to indicate the half-obscured village. "Look Iruka! There it is… Konoha. Our home. Our world. How many parents have come beating down the academy doors demanding to know if their children are safe?"

He continued, without a break, already knowing the answer. "The mist has them, and we both know what that means, they'll come after us _and_ the kids. This mist will make them attack their own children. I doubt they even know that they have children"

This time he took a long breath, searching for words that were still honest, but sounded less harsh.

"Look I know how you feel about these kids. You want to protect them, save them, but unless we can defeat this evil they're already dead. You weren't picked for that mission to Wave by chance, and the school wasn't attacked at random. Ketsuekimusha and his cronies know perfectly well that these kids are their biggest threat. You were supposed to give them the information about when to set off that bomb, to make it kill as many as possible, and then come back here to finish off the job."

Iruka was trembling, but maybe it was just the cold. "So _you_ want to lead these _children _into battle."

Kakashi let his hand slide down Iruka's arm to grasp his hand, then used two fingers of his other hand to stroke the line of his jaw through the cloth mask, tilting his chin a little.

"No Iruka, not me, I wouldn't know how. And anyway I'll have battles enough of my own. You have to be the one to lead them."

Iruka swallowed hard, but his voice still came out half strangled. "But Kakashi I…"

Kakashi pressed the same two fingers against his lips, then pointed to the west, where the mist thickened like an inkblot, sucking in the darkness.

"That's where it's coming from. This jutsu uses blood, lots of blood. He's activated the blood of those killed by the fox."

He paused as Iruka blanched, making his scar stand out as a dark line in the moonlight. Kakashi hated himself for awakening such a cruel memory. But he was desperate, with the kind of desperation that could justify even what he knew he had to say next.

"You've told me about that night. How you were dragged away from the battle, screaming to be allowed to fight, to save your parents. That wasn't a fight for children, but _this is_. This time _they _are the ones who must fight to save _their_ parents, and it's up to you to lead them. To give them the chance that you never had, the chance to do what you couldn't."

He watched Iruka struggle within himself. Knowing that he'd put him in an untenable position, straddled across both sides of an unwinable argument.

"Is it really the only way?"

Kakashi couldn't meet his eyes. "No it isn't. There's one other way. The wolf's blood. Do you remember what the old sennin said on Ookami Island, just after you were bitten?"

He pulled a syringe of dull red blood from his weapon pouch and looked at it hard before pressing it into Iruka's hand. It looked so… harmless, like something unreal, a practical joke.

Iruka stared at it, then at him, and shook his head.

Kakashi looked away again. "S'ok, didn't really expect you too."

It was true, in fact he had rather hoped he wouldn't, although _he_ hadn't been able to forget a word of it.

"It's demon blood. The evil in it has condemned Ookami descendents to unhappiness down the ages. Given us blood limits that make us feared and hated. I'm lucky my family doesn't have one. But he said that because I have the blood, because I'm related to him by blood, if I inject myself with this I'll become a blood host… like him."

Iruka felt as if an icy hand had just clutched at his heart. "So you've thought about using it."

"With everything that's at stake here how can I not think of using it? If I do I might be able to cancel the blood jutsu and call back the mist."

"But… but then won't he control you?"

Kakashi turned to go back inside. "Don't know, maybe, maybe not. Sleep on it, okay."

Iruka froze for a moment before shouting after him. "Hell no! Kakashi!"

A tear left a streak of silver in the moonlight. He scrubbed it away with the rough cloth of his cuff, threw the syringe down and ground it under his heel.

"One of the two people I love most is already demon possessed. I can't possibly handle another one. We'll fight this the old fashioned way, like ninjas. We'll use every deception and sneaky trick in the book, but we won't sink to their level. These kids do have power, real power, maybe more than any class since Naruto's. Give me one day and I'll give you the best damn army of nin children you've ever seen."

Kakashi's slouch didn't change, but something deep within him did. Some new spark. Hope? Hope that they still had the thinnest sliver of a chance?

"I know you will sensei."

He turned back and smiled, then picked Iruka up like a new bride and carried him into the school.

Jiraiya hadn't missed a word of the other men's conversation. Well he _wasn't_ the world's greatest spy for nothing. He sat and watched in silence as Kakashi lay his almost-asleep teacher on a mat next to Konohamaru and pulled a blanket over them both.

It was strange, seeing such tenderness in Sakumo's son. The legendary White fang had been many things, kind, generous, loyal, but tender had never been one of them. He shook his head, scowling at himself for comparing the two. Kakashi was Kakashi, a unique individual and a hero in his own right, hadn't he proven that by now? The sennin's lips twitched into a hint of a smile, heaven forbid that anyone should compare _him_ with _his _father.

"He's a fire-cracker isn't he? That sensei of yours. Just what do you _do_ to keep someone like that happy?"

Kakashi hopped up onto the table and sat cross-legged next to him. "Whatever he wants Jijii, whatever he wants."

The older man laughed, a deep rumbling guffaw. "I almost envy you kid."

Kakashi looked at him in surprise. "Envy? How do you mean?"

"You two can understand each other man to man. Women are soo difficult."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "You might think. But the truth is that most women understand themselves and what _they _want pretty well, so at least half the relationship knows what it's doing. Both of us are just muddling through, making it up as we go along."

Jiraiya looked at him with an unexpected softness in his flinty eyes. "Whatever it is you're making up, you've got my blessing kid. Now if everything's under control here I'd like to go and guard the gate."

This time it was Kakashi's turn to laugh. "Why? To make sure none of our enemies get out of the village during the night?"

Jiraiya bared his teeth in a grin that would have looked terrifying to someone who knew him less well.

"Yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but I just don't feel good leaving it wide open like that. I'll post a clone and sleep in the gate tower, just in case."

Kakshi looked at Jiraiya fondly, even indulgently. Who would ever have figured? Now that Iruka was asleep the two of them were the sanest men still conscious in all Konoha. God help them.

"Okay, but give me an hour, I want to check things out over at the hospital."

Jiraiya sucked in, then let out, a deep breath. "Right… Naruto."

Kakashi nodded. "And I'll see what Shizune has to say about the others while I'm there."

"If you mean Tsunade, I wouldn't worry. It will take more than a couple of bombs to put a dent in that old battle axe."

The flicker of concern under the flippancy wasn't lost on someone as perceptive as Sharingan Hatake. So that's who Jiraiya had been angsting over. "Actually I was thinking about Sakura and Gai. But I'll get an update on Hokage-sama for you too."

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Shizune knew that she was forgetting something important, very important, but she was damned if she knew what. At Kakshi's suggestion she'd had surgical masks put on everyone in the hospital. She'd also rigged up a sensor to monitor the levels of demon chakra that each person had been exposed to, and was using it to set a timetable for checking each of them.

She'd just finished with Naruto. He was the only one not showing symptoms of poisoning, but he was badly concussed. Apparently the kyuubi hadn't cushioned the blow quite fast enough. She closed the door to his room, secured the tungsten-steel locks, the chakra locks, and setup a network of wards. That really ought to keep anything in… or out. But the best security would be Naruto himself. Just as soon as he was awake. Alert, and fighting mad.

While she was musing, she strolled along the too bright corridor to the next room, Gai's. His symptoms were more troubling. The jutsu induced sleep was straightforward enough, and would probably last at least another day as Kakashi had said. But there was something else. Something that made her so uncomfortable that her skin was positively crawling. And she wasn't even in the same room yet. Kakashi hadn't mentioned anything that could explain _that._

She unlocked the room with a few hand seals. Maito Gai lay stretched on the bed like the corpse at an autopsy. She'd never imagined the energetic man could be so still, or so expressionless. Now that she was seeing him without it, his blinding smile seemed as if it had always been as much a fixture on his face as his eyebrows.

She placed a hand on his forehead, he was cool, almost cold, and breathing no more than once every few minutes, like a hibernating bear. She made a mental note to find out more about this jutsu. Perhaps she could ask Kakashi, the next time he...

Speak of the devil… Konoha's copy ninja appeared next to her in a cloud of smoke.

Shizune barely flinched. "Hatake-san, this is a locked isolation room. You do realise that it's supposed to be impossible to do that here?"

He looked down on her from his greater height and tilted his head.

"Oh. Sorry Shizune-san, must have forgotten. Mustn't get caught doing anything impossible, right?"

She caught the quick wink of his visible eye, shook her head slowly and sighed. Just how did this annoying man manage to bring out her all maternal instincts _and_ her fan-girl instincts? He had the charm of an unrepentant puppy, making her want to scold him and snuggle him at the same time.

He snapped her back to a harsher reality. "How's Naruto?"

"Naruto? I was just with him. About the same, but he's incredibly strong, I'm sure he'll be fine in less than a week."

"Ok." But just _how much_ less might be critical. "And Sakura?"

"She's doing amazingly well. It seems Naruto directed most of the fox's chakra to protect her, and a good deal of his own to protect her from the fox. With any luck she'll be able to help me out here in a few more days."

Kakashi smiled with genuine relief. His teammates were going to be ok. It was more than he had hoped for, although he knew that he was going to miss their support in the 'Battle for Konoha' that lay ahead. They made a great team and he'd come to depend on them… in a way he'd never quite been willing to depend on those other teammates, a lifetime ago.

"Oh, by the way, Sakura was holding this. Just in case it's important." The medic shrugged and held out a scroll.

He took it and unrolled it, then returned the shrug. One of his old mission scrolls. He tucked it away into an inside pocket and turned his attention to his self-appointed rival.

"And how about Gai's team? Are they in here too?"

Shizune could see her own hand coming to slap her forehead as if it was in slow motion. Her jaw dropped and she stood gaping. _That's _what she'd forgotten.

"Er… er… no, they aren't. Gai's, Asuma's and Kurenai's, they all left the village. They went to look for… for you and Iruka-sensei."

"You mean they weren't in the village when…"

Shizune nodded. "I sent them myself, now if only we had some way to contact them, call them back here."

Kakashi felt his lips curving, he knew those kids pretty well. Good fighter's, all of them, and young enough to have pretty good resistance to the mist. Masked they'd be invulnerable. Between them and the academy kids and Iruka… the odds were starting to improve.

"I have some friends who'll track them down. Just tell me which way to go."

Shizune's intelligent eyes flashed instant understanding. "I can do better than that. I have lists of the people they planned to contact. I'll get it for you as soon as I've finished in here."

"Then I'll tag along if you don't mind. Jiraiya's not expecting me back just yet. By the way, I said I'd ask about Hokage-sama."

A frown line formed between Shizune's eyebrows. "Her heritage gives her natural resistance to demon chakra, but in a perverse way that stopped it from protecting her fully from the blast. But she's very strong. She's been drifting in and out of consciousness since late this afternoon."

"Then you should get her out of here, in case we fail."

Shizune shook her head. "She wouldn't want that. I think we both have a good idea of what the big 'big picture' is."

Kakashi glanced towards the wall that separated them from the next room. "Yes… Naruto."

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Jiraiya wasn't entirely surprised to see a small pack of assorted canines stream out of the gate at top speed and fan out. He _was _surprised that they appeared to be wearing muzzles along with their usual Konoha accessories. But he could only assume that Kakashi knew what he was up to.

From above, the mist looked just like any other fog. Leached of its colour by the pale moonlight, swirling in patches through streets and open spaces. And in the centre of each a human presence. And everywhere the reek of blood.

He set about using his vantagepoint to make an inventory of the enemy chakras. As he'd expected, they were a match for the ones he'd picked up out in the forest. What he hadn't expected was for them to be arranged in such tight clusters. Wouldn't it make more sense to have them spread through the village? And he still didn't feel ripples from energy greater than chuunin level. Did that mean that the threat was still gathering, that the leaders were still waiting? If so, for what?

Well there wasn't any action to be taken tonight. He'd sleep on it. With a wink to his clone he settled under his blanket. It was cold. He wondered if they'd survive long enough to see this year's first snow.

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Iruka was pulled from his dream of a blood red ocean, and of trees shedding crimson leaves that turned to liquid as they fell, by the familiar feeling of strong but gentle hands squeezing his butt. He smiled and blinked himself awake. To find himself staring into a chubby round face, topped by unruly dark hair.

"Kakash… Konohamaru… what the hell?"

There was hot breath and a rich baritone voice in his ear. "Language Sensei, and in front of the children too."

It took him a few moments to process the information enough to realise that he was sandwiched between the man and the boy. Well, at least he had a pretty good idea which of the two was groping his ass. He stabbed a sharp elbow backwards and sat up, but was too slow to make contact. Naturally. So he settled for piercing the jounin, who was now bending over the mat they'd been sharing, hand outstretched, with his iciest of icy glares.

He took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Kakashi somehow pulled down both their masks, ran his tongue over Iruka's lips and into and around his mouth and had both masks back in place by the time they were both fully upright. Iruka flashed his eyes around the room nervously, grateful that his mask was hiding most of his blush. He knew these kids, and knew they didn't miss an opening.

He hissed a warning. "What the hell are you playing at? Are you trying to embarrass me to death?"

A limpid jewel shone from within Kakshi's wide open eye. "No. But I decided that just in case we don't survive this, I'm going to love you as much as I possibly can, every moment I have left."

Iruka's anger melted along with his heart. "Just cut it out in front of the kids. If you want me be to be their leader you'll have to leave me with a tiny shred of dignity."

"Don't sweat it Iruka-sensei. These kids will follow you anywhere. Right Konamaharu-kun?"

The boy's mouth twitched at the corners, while he kept his eyes tightly closed. "You bet Kakashi-sempai. Anyway we've seen you and Iruka-sensei kissing lots of times."

Kakashi had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Iruka's squawk was just that priceless. "So, I got everyone breakfast."

"Breakfast? Where? I hardly ate a thing yesterday." Konamaharu was on his feet scouting around in an instant.

Kakashi indicated the large boxes on and under the tables at the end of the gymnasium.

Iruka recognised the name on the side. "Field ration bars?"

"Yep, four cases, I brought them back from the armory last night. They should last us about six days."

"But… field ration bars? You expect these kids to live on field ration bars for six days?"

"Hey I've survived on them for months at a time before now. They have to learn the real hardships of the shinobi life sometime."

"Hey how bad can they be?" Konohamaru had ripped open a box and was stripping off a wrapper.

He took a bite. "Uck, I see what you mean. But I guess if you're hungry enough you'll eat anything." He grabbed six more and went back to his mat."

Iruka watched open mouthed in amazement. "If they're all like him we won't have enough."

Kakashi pulled him aside as the kids descended on the boxes. He eye had become dark and intense.

"Don't worry, if things go the way I expect, we'll need to switch to soldier pills pretty soon in any case. See you at sunset… and remember that promise."

He eased down their masks, stole another slightly longer kiss, and vanished.

Iruka stood gobsmacked, literally, for just a few moments before switching to full teacher mode and full teacher volume.

"Right, while the rest of you finish up and get ready, pre-gennins grab some food and come with me. We're going to find every usable weapon in this building."


	29. Chapter 29

Shikamaru was not happy. The reason he was not happy was because he was awake.

Early.

The white clouds of his breath faded into the frosty air as he sat up, with his blanket still pulled tightly around him, and looked past Chouji's bulk to the tuft of golden hair that was the only visible part of Ino. There was something out there in the shadows that had woken him. Of course it was just past sunrise, _and_ it was the end of freaking November, which meant that the sun was at such a low angle that _everything _was currently in the bloody shadows

Stifling a sigh, he groped for his jacket and wriggled into it, frowning at the cold air dancing little shivers across his newly exposed skin, and desperately trying to stop his precious warmth from escaping his blanket. There was nothing for it but to get up and investigate.

Normally he'd wait until Ino had almost finished her daily hair and makeup production, and Chouji had almost finished breakfast, or at least that part of his daylong meal that he officially designated as breakfast. And that would give him a good hour or more of extra sweet sleep. Shitty start to the day.

The 'something' shifted.

Nerves finely tuned, chakra perfectly harmonised with his surroundings, Shikamaru stretched upwards, slowly, with the same silent fluidity as the elongating shadow at his feet. The presence, a source of such intense chakra that it was 'blowing out' the auras of every other living organism in the surrounding forest, stretched too. As if it was preparing to _do_ something. Suppressing a tiny flutter of anxiety, he probed the surface of the uneven ground for a heartbeat, wrapped his shadow around… and … got it!

Using as much stealth as he could muster so early in the morning, he closed in on the motionless life form.

"Dammit kid. If you wanted me to stay all you had to do was ask."

Shikamaru released his jutsu and blinked. Twice. "So… er, is Kakashi-sensei making his dogs wear masks now too?"

Pakkun struggled to his feet and eyed him with the air of long suffering indulgence he usually reserved for very young children, mental patients, and foreigners. "Obviously."

"Er… why?"

The little dog snorted, sucking the fabric of the mask into his wide nostrils. Then sneezed. "I think perhaps that's a question you should be asking my master, not me. God knows _I _plan to."

He tilted his head to one side. "And you'll have to wear masks too, when you get to Konoha."

"We're going back to Konoha?"

"Yes, that's my message. For heaven's sake, wake up the rest of your team and let me do this properly, you've got me all confused."

"Can I assume Kakashi-sensei is back in Konoha?"

Pakkun didn't favour him with a reply.

They walked back to where Ino was riffling through her pack for a mirror and Chouji through his for a bag of snacks. "So, Pakkun-san, if this message is so important, how come you were… asleep?"

The pug's eyes narrowed. It was bad enough being the summons of a damn lazy smart Alec, without having to put up with this Nara kid too.

He sat down and looked at the three teens as imperiously as he could, considering that he was a dog, and a rather small dog at that.

"Listen up all of you. You have to go back to Konoha… now. It's been attacked, half of it's been blown up and they need you to fight. Got it? And I was not asleep, just taking a quick breather while I thought out the best way to wake you up, with this stupid thing on my face I can't lick you or stick a cold nose in your ear. And… before you ask, it was _my_ job to find you because the others don't speak human as well as I do. Lucky sods. Master said it's very important that you tell _everyone_ to put on a cloth mask _before_ they go into the village. He said that would be _your_ job because your team would be the closest to Konoha and could get back there before any of the others. He said he knew you'd be the closest because Shikamaru is too lazy to move fast, Ino is too worried about chipping her nails and Chouji is too fat. Oh, and tell everyone to report to Iruka-sensei, he's in charge."

Fortunately for his continued existence on _any _material plane, Pakkun had already poofed away before Chouji could reach more than half again his normal size.

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Jiraiya snapped his notebook shut and slipped it away into the dark inner depths of his robe.

"Forget it kid. Not until it's in print."

Kakashi grinned sheepishly from his crouch behind the seated sennin on the gate tower. He had been poised, as still, as silent and as void of chakra, as part of its wooden structure. The old geezer had lost nothing of his uncanny sensitivities.

"Yo. I wasn't really peeking… although… since it might never get into print…"

The toad hermit stood and leaned against one of the stout posts, staring out into the forest. "Not a chance. Perhaps it will give you just the extra incentive you need…. to keep me and this damn town alive."

Kakashi rose to join him, without betraying a flicker of the stunned shock he felt in his belly. Since when was he in charge? "Quiet isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's one of the things I remember most about war, the way it goes from too much quiet to too much noise in a heartbeat. The one is almost as bad as the other."

Kakashi scratched his head, he knew damn well he was stalling. "I made Iruka a promise, one day to prepare his kids. Do you think I can keep it?"

Three eyes swept over the tops of the naked trees, interspersed here and there with an occasional evergreen.

"Dunno, they haven't moved all night. Just standing, like zombies, as if they're waiting for something. Two big groups mostly, at the kyuubi site and the Uchiha district. There were some at the forest of doom, but they've moved on."

Both men knew who _they_ were. The unknown ninjas who'd infiltrated the village in the confusion following the explosions, and who had flooded it with red mist. They knew without the slightest doubt, although neither had been there to see.

"Orders?"

"Suppose so. But I'm damned if I know who'd be giving them, there's no one out there with any real power, unless they're masked better than anyone I've ever seen."

Kakashi remembered how the Blood Wolf Warrior had approached him on Wolf Island, with his chakra so tightly concealed that he had no more presence than a ghost. But he'd have to be way beyond damn good to be invisible to Jiraiya.

"He might be out there, or he might not. Ketsuekimusha, the Mist sennin I told you about, he can control the people he's turned into drones from a distance."

"You're sure about that?"

"Positive. Although maybe not this many at once. I was fighting two of them the first time I saw this mist, and he seemed to be switching from one to the other. It was spooky having two people fight as if they were one, but I understand it now. Looking back, if they'd both come at me at once I'd have had a much tougher time of it."

Kakashi turned around to face the village and sat down again. In truth Ketsuekimusha wasn't his biggest concern. _This_ was what he'd come to say.

"Itachi's involved. He made me an offer, after a fashion."

Jiraiya's eyes opened wide in surprise. Well that was an interesting twist. But in character. The Akatzuki had taken advantage of Orochimaru's attack to try to grab Naruto before. And it had almost worked. Perhaps they'd decided to engineer their own emergency this time.

He bared his teeth in a ferocious grin. "What did he offer?"

But Kakashi wasn't there to answer. He was on the ground, a dozen yards from a cloud of red that was congealing at its centre to reveal a human outline.

A white haired man stepped out of it.

Jiraira started to mold chakra as the men on the ground regarded each other with mutual recognition and mutual loathing.

"You again, damned ninja vermin. Are you following me? What the hell are _you _doing _here_?

"All the way to hell. Pirate. Vermin." Kakashi traced a finger around the swirl of the leaf on his headband. "And I live here."

'Ha, that so? Now I'm glad I didn't kill you when Ketsuekimusha-sama told me to. I'll enjoy having you… as my faithful servant."

Well that answered one of his most pressing questions.

"So the old man's still alive? Pulling your strings while you dance around doing all his shitty dirty work for him." Kakashi started to form a seal.

"I don't think you want to do that. All it takes is a thought and I can make anyone in that mist do anything I want. I can make them slit each other's throats, or their own."

It was risk he couldn't take, and they both knew it. Kakashi stopped abruptly, and gave him a look of pure venom.

The pirate stamped his foot and laughed. "Ha, I'll dance to his tune happily enough, as long as it takes me where I want to go. I'm going to be your Hokage _Kakashi-kun._ This whole village will be mine. Imagine, thousands of people, a whole freaking ninja army. Finally I'll have real wealth, real power."

Kakashi flashed a mental image of Tsunade, with her never finished paperwork and her bottle of sake tucked under her desk. If these would be megalomaniacs had the faintest idea of what it took to rule a hidden village, much less the world, they'd run screaming for the nearest unoccupied hovel.

"Why this village? Why not Mist? Isn't that the one Ketsuekimusha really wants."

"Done your homework haven't you? He'll take back Mist soon enough. Or rather you will take it back for him, you and all the other freaks in this town. Then he'll be gone. And me? I'll still be here, with all the power of the wolf's blood and the blood mist. Not a bad bargain eh?"

So that was the plan, but it didn't explain where the Akatzuki fitted in? Or was the old sennin using his new apprentice to squeeze them out? He didn't know much about the others, but Itachi wouldn't take kindly to that. No one resented betrayal quite as much as a traitor.

A sparkle of chakra caught his attention.

Without the slightest hint of change in his body language or expression, he tracked the plume of energy back to the tower. So Jiraiya had finished building his attack and was waiting… for a signal from him?

He raised one hand, open, fingers spread, ready to cast a barrier between them. To stop the man who was the closest thing he still had to a father figure from killing his own son. But his brain raced fleetingly ahead of his movements, and he held back. Watching in cold detached horror as he let two fingers form a lazy circle. His hand fell to its place by his side and he shoved it into his pocket.

"Yo. Not bad at all."

It was better this way. An accidental end to an accidental life that had been filled with nothing more than cruel brutality. Neither man knew who the other was, neither even knew that the other existed. All the guilt would be his, just a little more to shove down into that damned abyss.

His only real regret was that things could, and should, have been so different. If only the boss of The Mermaid had been raised by his mother and her gentle partner. With his natural strength and force of personality he could have been the best and most powerful leader that the clan of the desert snakes had ever known. Maybe, with his help, they could even have freed the city within the city of Port Kozuimo from the tyranny of the human predators surrounding it.

The rasengen hit, square on the chest, and the pirate exploded into a ball of flames. His final shout was more a yell of surprise than a scream of pain. And then he was gone. A human life reduced in an instant to a puff of smoke and a handful of ash. Kakashi turned away, he'd never even asked his name.

Wherever Little Gep was he hoped that he was happy. He hoped that one day he'd find a truer, worthier love.

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Iruka was bandaging his third kunai wound that morning, and they'd only been sparring for an hour. At this rate his 'soldiers' will have decimated each other before they even come within sight of the enemy. He wrapped the gauze snugly, using his nimble experienced fingers to maintain just the right tension to staunch the blood without restricting movement. And he did it in calm professional silence.

He was a commander here, not a teacher. This wasn't the time for soothing words or gentle endearments.

"Now go back. And dodge faster next time."

The girl, she couldn't be older than seven, hardened her eyes, blinking back the tears she hadn't allowed herself to shed. Her shinobi spirit staring out at him from within the black orbs. Then she bared her teeth, they seemed to big for her mouth as if they'd only recently replaced her tiny milk teeth, in a half-snarl half-grin and ran to rejoin her assigned group.

"Idiot. The first one of them I nail I'm gonna write your name on."

Iruka allowed himself a smile. The kids were good, they had power, but they just didn't have the kind of control they'd need against a more experienced enemy. Precision took time. Time to train the mind, muscles and chakra to work together as a single force. And time was the very thing he didn't have. There had to be something he'd overlooked, _something_ that would give them an edge.

"Ok, weapons away. We'll do taijutsu for an hour then take a short break. Now hop to it and find a partner, someone you've never sparred with before, let's get those muscles stretched and in tune. Inuzuka why are you just standing there?"

Dark eyes flashed towards him from under a shaggy rug of auburn hair. "It's Okonomiyaki Sensei he says he smells something funny. Something that smells like priests."

"Then tighten his mask. I told you, we can't predict how this mist will effect dogs."

Iruka felt his stomach tighten. He knew how it had effected Pakkun, but with any luck nin dogs were the exception. He certainly hoped they wouldn't find themselves fighting off all the animals in the village, wild and domestic, as well as the humans.

Suddenly he looked up in alarm, sensing the movement of someone running towards him, fast. The children were spread out so that he could see all their moves at a glance, leaving them completely exposed, there was no way he could protect them all. Hadn't Kakashi promised him a day to prepare? He gathered chakra ready for his first seal. The figure was close enough to see its open loping gait, its flapping robe and… its…bald… head.

"Sampo-san?"

This close even he could smell the incense.

"Umino-san, I'm so glad to see you. So this weird mist has found its way to Konoha now, place is a mess isn't it?"

He adjusted the cloth he'd tied around his face. "I don't know how Kakashi wears one of these all the time, I'm all sweaty underneath. He is ok isn't he? Kakashi? Is he around here too?"

"Er, no. Yes. That is he's in the village somewhere."

The monk's body relaxed as he shed his burden of worry. "Thank goodness. I met up with some people I know out on the road who said some kids had been asking about you. You and Kaka-kun. They said you'd never come home."

"We got back yesterday."

"I see. Er, need some help?"

When Iruka didn't answer the monk moved close so that he could see the hard spokes of black stubble poking through his scalp and the beads of sweat gathered at his temples.

"Umino-san. I have no idea what your mission was with Kakashi, and I'm well aware that it's not my business to know. But it's pretty clear that you're under attack, and if you're training kids this young for battle it's also pretty obvious that you can use all the help you can get. Konoha is still my home too you know."

Iruka frowned, then smiled. Well he was a martial monk. "I suppose, if you could spar with some of them…"

Sampo's eyes crinkled and Iruka felt his cheeks heat as he remembered his high voltage smile, now hidden by the dark mask.

"I can do at least that. You train kids to use spirit energy to fight. My novices fight in order to train their spirit. It's not so different."

An hour later they were all seated on the grass, sweating and stripped to their shirts despite the chill in the air. And Konohamaru, in particular, had developed a profound new respect for men of the cloth.

Iruka and Sampo sat apart from the others as they chewed ration bars and drank refilled bottles water. For some reason Iruka found the situation discomforting, as if he felt he was being drawn into a friendship he didn't really want.

Apparently Sampo had no such reservations. He slapped his hand onto Iruka's thigh.

"You're good for Kakashi-kun, I'm glad he has you."

Iruka froze. Whether it had been intended to or not, it reminded him vividly of his first, disastrous, encounter with the monk. He put his hand on top. Partly to show a measure of acceptance, but mostly to stop it from moving to somewhere it shouldn't. This man was Kakashi's oldest friend, and that carried all kinds of implications.

"You've been in love with Kakashi for a long time, haven't you Kanchou-sama?"

He rolled his hand over and grasped Iruka's, squeezing it gently.

"Please, call me Sampo. And yes, since I was five or six. I expect you find that hard to believe, that a child so young can have such strong feelings."

"Not necessarily. How did you know him?"

"He came to our estate quite often, with his father. I would know we were expecting visitors from the way all the servants were scurrying around, so I'd strain my eyes to see if it was a tall man at the gate, with silver hair. If it was, my heart would start beating like mad, even before I could tell if Kakashi was with him. But he almost always was."

So Sampo was from a wealthy, maybe even noble, family.

"You knew White Fang too, what was he like?"

"Great, just great. The most wonderful man, part favourite uncle and part magician. He knew everyone's names, the servants and their children and grandchildren. Even our pets. And he always took time to play with us, showing us tricks and making us laugh, when he must have had so many more important things on his mind. I don't think he had very many friends, but to those he had he was the truest friend imaginable. How many civilian friends do you have Shinobi-san?"

None. It was rare for ninjas to bother extending themselves beyond the shinobi world, and the risks involved weren't worth the trouble to most.

"I see what you mean. So what happened when…"

Sampo shook his head.

"We weren't in Konoha. My father had to live in another part of the continent for several years, so we moved away. I've often wondered if things might have turned out differently if Hatake-sama had had just one good friend to rely on, when everyone else turned against him. Someone with a different perspective. Someone who didn't look at the world in quite the same way as a Konoha shinobi."

He smiled sadly. "Of course I didn't find out about his suicide until years later, after I'd started my training. But it explained why Kakashi had stopped answering my letters."

Iruka looked at his downcast eyes. Despite the time they'd spent together, on the sea and on the road, he felt as if he was truly seeing him for the first time.

"But I bet you never stopped sending them."

"No. I never have. Although it's been a long time since I had anything particularly interesting to tell him."

Iruka frowned and clawed his fingers into the cold earth of the training field. "He should have chosen you, not me. You'd be better for him. I'm too emotional, I lose my temper and get upset."

Sampo put his other hand on Iruka's, so that it was between both of his. His lack of inhibition and regard for personal space was starting to feel normal. More friendly than uncomfortable, the way it did with Kakashi.

"Sensei-san, where love's concerned choice doesn't have much to do with it. But I'm glad he found you, he's obviously happy."

When Iruka looked up he was smiling. "So do we have your blessing? As a holy man?"

"Of course, but you don't need it, you're already blessed. You shouldn't worry so much about your weaknesses, give a little more thought to your strengths."

That was it! Not weaknesses but strengths. The simple blindingly obvious truth crashed over him like a wall of water, washing away his doubts and hesitations. And it was something he'd known all along. He took Sampo's handsome face in his hands and gave him a cloth-covered kiss in the centre of his forehead.

The reason a gennin could sometimes defeat a jounin, when a chuunin almost never could, was because they were less trained and less predictable. They made wild moves, out of the blue moves. Hadn't Naruto beaten back the infamous 'Devil of the Hidden Mist' Zabuza, on his very first serious mission, by doing something so bizarre and unpredictable that even Kakashi would never have thought of it?

He needed to ignore the kid's weaknesses and concentrate on their strengths. They may lack precision, but boy could they ever surprise.

Grabbing Sampo's hand, he pulled him to his feet. "Come on I'm going about this all wrong. I don't need an army of inferior adults, what I need is super-kids. And we have less than a day to untrain them."

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Cloaked by stealth, Kakashi spent much of the day scouting the village. To an outsider, apart from the fact that the Hokage tower and the academy had apparently been destroyed and abandoned, it would seem to be more or less normal. True the misty air was tinted decidedly pink, but stores opened and bustled with customers, the sweet and enticing smells of bakeries and eateries mingled with the reek of blood that still hung in the air. Friends hailed each other as they met in the street, gissips gossiped and tradesmen traded. The only things missing were its children and its shinobi population.

The academy kids were with Iruka of course. He could only assume that the other children, the ones he'd seen running and playing in the village streets, were at home. Although he hadn't detected any obvious change in their parent's behaviour, other than the fact that they had attacked and tried to kill him of course. No doubt their own kids were sensitive to more subtle changes, and more fearful. It was just as well. Huddled in their beds or hidden in their hideouts was the best place for them.

As for the absent Leaf shinobi, about half were in the hospital, including most of the jounins. The rest… he had no idea. They must be somewhere, lost in the mist's illusions. A reserve to be activated, literally, when the time came. And come it would, the next day or the day after. If Jiraiya was right, and the people caught in blood jutsu hadn't eaten or slept since they'd arrived, Ketsuekimusha must plan to act soon. Even human puppets were still human, and needed nourishment and rest.

He gripped the ridge of a roof by the projecting edge of a tile, and flipped himself over it, a little of the baked clay crumbling in his fingers at the impact. He brushed the gritty stuff away, before landing silently on the roof at the far side of the abandoned courtyard. It wasn't often that he got the chance to check out every inch of a battleground before the fact, he might as well make the most of it.

Pakkuns's haughty appearance soon after midday, announced the immenent arrival of team Asuma. He knew they could move fast with the right motivation. Sensibly he let Jiraiya meet them and send Ino and Chouji to help Iruka, before giving Shikamaru instructions and leaving him in control of the gate.

Kakashi lingered nearby. He was relieved to see that the villagers paid no attention to the young ninjas. It was what he had expected, but welcome none the less. It seemed that the mist had primed those whose minds it had altered to pick out him and Iruka as enemies, but not the others. But then they were the only ones the sennin had seen face to face. And if he was confident enough to expect the whole village population to be dead or under his control, it made sense. Kakshi filed the thought away. Maybe this was something he could use to his advantage.

Team Kurenei arrived a few hours later, confused, frightened and ready to rip off the heads, freeze the internal organs, and send their killer bugs to devour, anyone who'd hurt their families and their sensei. Iruka got them too.

Team Gai were the last to arrive, accompanied by the big lurcher Jipushi, who looked rakishly ridiculous wearing a polka dot red and white silk scarf around his muzzle. But because they were the oldest, Kakashi knew that this threesome was also at the greatest risk. In fact it was very hard to imagine that Hyuuga Neiji in particular, had _ever_ been a child. And the condition of their sensei would be… problematic, especially for Lee. Kakashi hurriedly masked them, described how the blood mist operated (to knowing looks and nods from Neiji) then sent them over to the hospital.

The copy nin nodded sagely and pursed his lips. Shizune was the best choice to explain the details. It was clear to anyone that a situation like this most definitely required a woman's touch and understanding. Besides, he had precious little time, and a lot that he still wanted to do. He watched the red of the setting sun illuminate and intensify the red mist poisoning his people and his home. He looked as it lit up the backs of the three young shinobi racing over the rooftops towards the hospital. Making them look touched with fire.

If anyone was going to hug him tight and weep on his shoulder tonight, he wanted it to be Iruka, not Lee.


	30. Chapter 30

Pakkun plonked himself down and scratched behind an ear with a hind paw, while he watched the broaddark back hunch over, and a pool of blue chakra take shape on the workbench in front of it.

"Ahem."

The back tensed but didn't move as the blue intensified before dimming and receding, it's edges shimmering violet as it faded away.

"Ahem, if this is a bad time I can come back _after_ the war is over. _If _there is anything to come back to."

Jiraiya turned to face him, his mouth curved into a tight hard smile. "Pakkun-kun."

He took in the dark cloth tied around the dog's muzzle and rubbed at the fresh scar on his arm. "Do you have a message from Kakashi?"

"Can't think of any other reason to be in this dank hole. Why do you sennins always do your experiments in caves anyway? I remember Oro…"

"Yes. I heard about it."

There was a short, but ugly, moment of silence.

"We work alone because we're hermits. That's what sennin means, hermit. Now… if we want to _win_ that war, I still have a lot to do."

For the first time in as long as he could remember Pakkun actually felt ashamed. His neck sagged in a fashion that could only be described as hangdog and for once his puppy dog eyes were completely uncalculated. "I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama. I haven't been… I just don't feel… and wearing this mask… I can't use my nose properly everything smells of blood."

Jiraira picked him up off the floor, put him on his lap and started to scratch behind an ear. Pakkun leaned into the friction, pulling his lips back from his teeth in appreciation.

"So what did Kakashi tell you to say?"

"He asked if you'd come to see him, said there's something he wants you to do, in about an hour."

"Mmm. Did he say where?"

"He went home, and it must be important, I don't think I've ever seen him so twitchy. And he didn't ask, but could you check on the kids at the academy too. I don't want him to go out again tonight, he's been acting weird… even for him."

"Iruka-sensei's not with them?"

"No Master left the teenage chuunins in charge. He said Iruka-sensei needed to get a decent night's sleep."

"Well at least he's using his brain. And you're right, they'll both need a good night's sleep if they're going to be ready to fight tomorrow."

Pakkun slumped down, his jowls flapping from under his mask onto his front paws, and his small body trembling. "Tomorrow? So soon?"

It was Jiraiya's turn to feel guilty. So the pug's bluster was to cover his fear. Had he made a subconscious connection between the smell of the blood mist and the loss of his previous master?

"Yes. Times running out and Kakashi knows that he has to strike first, if I can get these tags right by then."

The little dog jumped to the floor and nodded in an approximation of a bow. "Please forgive me for disturbing your important work Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya picked up a piece of parchment and held it so that it glowed blue at his touch. "I'll be there, I won't let Kakashi down Pakkun-kun, you can count on it."

A nervous Kakashi and an apologetic Pakkun, how much weirder could things get?

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For a big man and one who frankly wasn't quite as young as he once was, Jiraiya moved surprisingly fast. Anyone watching, although no one was, would have been aware of little more than slight disturbance in the air and an impression of black and white as he passed. Along with an occasional faint click of a wooden sandal meeting a hard surface.

Only Shizune noticed him enter the hospital and make his way to Naruto's room. She found him there, standing next to the kyuubi vessel, and running his index finger along the spirals of his seal.

"Well it's holding," he said, without looking up at her."

"He's recovered remarkably well. All the damage to his body is already healed, I expect him to be awake sometime before morning."

A gust of cold air seemed to stir the notes she'd left clipped to a board at his bedside. She walked over and checked the window, but it was already closed.

"Just what kind of maelstrom would it take to blast this mist away from the village Jiraiya?"

They both stared at Naruto. The somber silence in the warm bright room made it seem colder and darker than the wintry night outside.

"Not that kind Shizune. Not this time, or at least not unless we get a lot more desperate than we are now. In fact that's the reason I'm here. We already have more wild cards in play than I can follow, we need to keep this one in the deck."

He took a small scroll from inside his clothing and unrolled it over Naruto's seal, securing it with surgical tape.

"Make sure that stays on him, unless you have a very good reason for taking it off."

Jiraiya slipped a hand inside his inner garment and stroked the scars on his chest. "Remember, I've seen what he might do without it, you haven't."

Shizune turned away, as if she was about to leave. Jiraiya raked his fingers through his hair, scratched his nose, then called after her.

"So, how's Ba… Hokage-sama?"

A tiny change in Shizune's posture warned him that this was even more dangerous territory. "She's strong… and tough."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"Yes, but s_he_ doesn't have a demon to heal her."

So Shizune could be pretty scary in her own right, at least where Tsunade was concerned. He'd better tread softly. "I know. Can I see her?"

"If you have to. But she's on a lot of painkillers, and barely conscious."

"That's okay, I don't have the time for a long conversation."

"And I'm coming with you. …She's barely conscious."

Jiraiya took a step back and his eyes went wide with shock. "Surely you don't think I'd…"

The dark glower in Shizune's made it quite clear that she did.

Jiraiya felt the rumble of a laugh in his belly. He actually felt insulted!

But then again, the idea had some merit. The beautiful, and beautifully endowed, heroine collapses at our hero's feet. What can he do but loosen her tight clothing? And maybe press his ear to her ample bosoms to listen for her precious heartbeat? He'd have to write that down when he had a chance.

Five minutes later he left the hospital as silently as he had arrived. Now to check up on the kids, spend half an hour bucking up their spirits, and he's still be in good time to keep his promise to Pakkun. But why on earth could Kakashi need him to come over? What was he planning, this night of all nights?

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Iruka was glad to be back within his own four walls, but that was about the only thing about his much-delayed homecoming that he felt good about right now.

As he wedged a shoulder against the living room door, he adjusted the balance of the tray in his hands to keep the steaming liquid in the teacups perfectly level. He was feeling slightly irritated, okay significantly irritated, that he had been the one expected to make tea. Wasn't Sampo _Kakashi's_ guest? And he may be the man's number one fuckbuddy… no, that was unfair, he knew he was much more than that. But he wasn't his dutiful wife either, and he had no obligation to attend and wait on the other man's friends.

Of course the monk _had_ risked his life coming into Konoha. _And_ he had taken it on himself to help prepare the academy kids for the fight of their lives. His sudden appearance had been, in all honesty, a godsend. Iruka had no illusions at all, that he could have honed the gaggle of half-trained children into the proto-soldiers they now were half as effectively without him.

The situation had improved considerably when a handful of his more talented past graduates had shown up out of the blue. But even _their_ skills would have been mostly wasted, if Sampo's solid authority and powerful… spiritual presence hadn't already brought a measure of calm and focus to these kids, who had just witnessed almost every adult they knew going more or less insane.

Okay, so he was jealous. It had to be obvious to anyone who wasn't blind and stupid that Sampo was a better man than he would, or could, ever be. Maybe this was all he was good for, making tea.

Iruka nudged the door and the other men's voices became clearer. There was a serious undertone in Kakashi's that made him freeze in the doorway, pulling in his chakra automatically. He blushed with guilt, but was powerless in the face of an unknown dread. He couldn't _not _spy.

"Are you sure about this Kaka-kun? It's a big step."

"Yes Sam. I should have asked you a long time ago, guess I was just too complacent, and too lazy. But just in case we… well in case time runs out on us, I want to do it now, tonight. So… will you? Will you marry me?"

Iruka went numb. His hands started to shake, spilling the tea from its dull clay vessels to pool in the bright lacquered tray. The door yielded just enough for him to peek through the crack, to see the two men on the couch, facing each other, hands clasped and intertwined.

"If you're sure that's what you want." The big monk grinned, showing his perfect white teeth, then hugged Kakashi close and kissed his unmasked cheek. "I suppose I've just never had you pegged as the marrying kind."

Iruka sucked in a ragged breath and leaned against the doorframe for support.

There was a long pause, as the whole world seemed to wait in silence. Sampo patted Kakashi's hand in a way that went way beyond familiar. "But what about Umino-san? Have you said anything to him?"

Kakashi's voice became quiet and thoughtful. "No. You know things are pretty good between the two of us. Hell they're very good. If I'd mentioned it to him, and then you'd turned me down, well I wouldn't want to risk messing up something so sweet."

There was a crash as the tray fell to the floor, splattering tea and scattering fragments of pottery.

The door swung open.

Iruka stood framed in the opening, all the blood that was currently rushing to his brain made Kakashi's voice sound as if he was a very long way away.

"Ruka. You ok? I just asked Sam if he…"

Iruka spat out the words. "I know. I heard."

Kakashi had been looking unusually flushed and excited. But the ice in Iruka's voice caused his visible eye to widen and the colour of his skin to drain to pallor way beyond his normal pale.

His voice had a tremor that almost sounded like fear. "Iruka, what's the matter? You look so... Don't you want to marry me? I know it's… unusual, but Sam's the abbot at that shrine of his, so he has the authority…"

Dots tentatively connected in the teacher's normally coherent brain. "You mean you want Sampo-san to… conduct the ceremony?"

"Of course. That is… if you'll have me? I don't know how much legal standing it will have but…"

Iruka sank to his knees watching in abstract fascination as the rough weave of the matting came up to meet him, collapsed, and curled into a fetal position.

The other two men stared, then walked over to him. Kakashi crouched down and kissed his lover's forehead, scooped him up and sat back on the couch with him coiled in his arms, rocking him gently.

"I er, _think _he's happy. Do _you_ think he's happy?"

Sampo stroked a hand over the five 'clock shadow on his head. "I don't know Kaka-kun, and I was rather hoping he'd be able to keep _you _from going barking mad.

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Lee was on his fifty third circuit of flip flops around the academy when he heard something. A muffled noise from the roof. He leapt up onto it, his scrawny body posed into position, ready to attack. The source of the noise shifted, dislodging a fragment of broken tile. well whatever it was, it was obviously being far too careless to be any kind of threat. He relaxed with a sigh and opened his eyes wider, trying to see more clearly.

"Ino-chan?"

The girl was huddled on the peak of the roof, right before it disappeared into a gaping hole. And she was sobbing into her long hair, which she'd wadded up in front of her mask to absorb the sound.

Lee sat next to her and put an arm over her shoulder. "Shouldn't you be inside Ino-chan?"

She looked up, weepy eyed, as she suddenly realised that she was no longer alone.

"Oh Lee!" She flung her arms around him, wailing loudly, suddenly not caring if anyone heard.

"I slipped away, just after Iruka-sensei left. I went to the flower shop to see my Mum and Dad. And… and… _they tried to sell me some flowers!"_

Lee stared over her shoulder into the darkness. "Well it is a flower shop Ino-chan."

"Waaah, don't you see? They didn't recognise me. They didn't know me at all. They don't care what happens to me or anything. I could die and my own parents wouldn't even care."

"Kakashi-sensei and Shizune-sama explained about the mist. How it messes with peoples minds."

"But it's not just them. Asuma-sensei's in the hospital and Hakage-sama, and it's all so horrible. We have to beat this thing tomorrow, we just have to Lee!"

Lee felt his own eyes brimming again. He'd wept over Gai-sensei at the hospital, and over his sweet Sakura, and his family too. Although he'd obeyed Iruka-sensei's instructions and resisted going home to see them. But he couldn't give in to his emotions now. Ino needed him to be strong enough for both of them.

He wrapped his arms around her, clinging tightly, as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "Waah Ino-chan, Gai-sensei looked so helpless…"

"I can't bear to think of Asuma-sensei just lying there, too dazed to ask for a cigarette…"

"My Sakura, a bruised and broken blossom…"

"My Mum used my own sales pitch on me, that yellow roses are always an appropriate gift…"

Neiji watched them from a safe distance. He'd let them wallow in it for another ten… no, five minutes, then haul their arses back down to the gymnasium to help him get the little kids settled down for the night.

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Kakashi closed the bedroom door behind them, then after a moment's thought, locked it. Sampo's breathing, from the direction of the living room couch, had already evened out. But who knew where _Jiraiya_ had gone, or what he was up to. And Iruka really did seem to be tired, he'd already started to undress.

"Look Ruka, I know it may not have been the kind of wedding you'd always dreamed of but…"

Iruka shucked off his shirt and sat on the edge of the bed to pull his legs out of his pants.

"Kakashi, I've known that I have no romantic interest in girls as long as I've known…anything. I never expected to marry, never particularly wanted to marry, and although I've had my share of wild fantasies, my wedding day has _never ever _been one of them."

He picked up his outer clothes, folded them neatly and hung them in the closet.

"But if… and this is a very big if… I _had_ ever thought about it. I would NOT have wanted Konoha ration bars to be served for the wedding feast."

Kakashi looked down, as if undoing the zipper on his pants suddenly required all his attention. "I know, I'm sorry."

Iruka stepped out of his underwear, tossed them in the wicker laundry basket in the corner of the room and climbed into bed. "I would have at least liked a cake, maybe a chocolate cake, with ice cream."

"I know."

"Some champagne would have been nice too, or sake. Sake is good for celebrations."

"I know."

"And I would have wanted Naruto to be here, and the others, and my friends, and your friends."

"I know.' Kakshi risked a glance up. "My dogs came."

"Yeah, even they wouldn't eat the ration bars. And we should have had flowers, and some music".

"Well Sam did do a nice incantation and Jiraiya offered to sing."

Iruka rubbed his eyes wearily. "Right. I wouldn't have minded him singing, it was _what_ he wanted to sing that was the problem."

Kakashi dumped his clothes on a chair in a heap, and eased himself into bed too. "Sorry, I think those are the only kinds of songs he knows. At least we were able to get Tsunade's permission."

"Yeah because she's still so stoned on morphine that she'd agree to anything right now. Don't think _that's_ not gonna come back and bite us in the ass just as soon as she's in her right mind again."

Kakashi snagged Iruka's hair tie between two fingers and pulled it out. "S'okay, I've been tempted to tell her to bite my ass plenty of times over the past few years."

Iruka's face melted into a smile. "I love you Kakashi."

Kakashi propped himself on one elbow and looked at his new spouse. It was all so familiar, yet somehow so completely new. His greatest treasure lay beside him, eyes shining, dark hair spread out over the pillow like a blot of India ink. He used a fingertip to stroke a few stray wisps away from Iruka's lips before brushing his against them.

"So you're glad we did this?"

Iruka reached up to deepen the kiss before realising that Kakashi had already pulled too far away. He grabbed the back of his head to yank him back within range.

The kiss was long and lingering, maybe not the most passionate that they had ever shared, but definitely one of the sweetest.

"This is the happiest day of my life Kakashi."

"Mine too. Tired?"

"Yeah."

"Too tired?"

Kakashi felt a warm hand slide the length of his body, from shoulder to thigh, then around to the part that was now officially Iruka's to touch. "Hell no. You owe me a wedding night."

"You took the words right out of my mouth Iruka-sensei."

"Then if it's empty… I can think of a much better use for it."


	31. Chapter 31

The eccentric mix of peaked roofs, tiled ridges, and naked trees that made up the Konoha skyline, stood stark against the first rays of daylight that were just streaking the heavens with pink. And although it was a softer, less sinister shade, than the red staining the air in the streets below, the dawn of the new day seemed to promise nothing good.

Most of Konoha was still sleeping. It's ninja population, who would normally be out training before the day's missions, returning from night training, or regretfully slinking back to the cold comfort of their own cold beds, was nowhere to be seen.

Except Jaraiya.

He watched three crows rise from a utility pole. Black shapes, with broad rag-edged wings, rising as one then taking off to their separate destinations. Only three, it could be worse. He bounded up the steps to Iruka's apartment, four at a time, and rapped on the door with his knuckles.

A voice came from within. "It's open."

The door yielded at his touch to reveal Iruka sharpening a few final weapons and Sampo engulfed in a cloud of incense smoke.

"Good morning Sou-sama, Iruka-sensei. So how does it feel to be an honest man at last?"

Iruka didn't look up from his stone. He stared at his broken and bitten fingernails as he ground the edge of his blade against it in small circular movements.

"Jiraiya-sama, Sampo-san used his power as a holy man to sanctify our union. But neither Kakashi nor I said anything that we hadn't already promised to each other, and that we didn't already know in our hearts. Nothing's changed."

Jiraiya leaned against the wall inside the door watching him closely. His eyebrows twitched. "You mean last night there wasn't some extra fire between you? A new level of passion unleashed by your public declaration to worship each other _body_ and soul?"

Iruka felt heat prickling his cheeks. Maybe just a little, but it wasn't up for discussion. "There were the four of us and some nin dogs. I'd hardly call it public. And Kakashi's in the shower, so if you don't mind waiting…"

"Really? He's already awake? Iruka-sensei, I'm impressed, you've made a new man of him already."

Jiraiya ignored Iruka's snort and headed towards the bedroom, where the bedding looked satisfyingly stiff and rumpled, and to the bathroom leading from it.

"Don't worry, we're all men here. If he's got anything I've never seen before I'll be sure to put it in my next book."

Steam billowed out to meet him as he pulled open the door, and he took a moment to observe the signs of simple domesticity. Two toothbrushes standing in a single glass, two razors lying side by side. A uniform shirt soaking in a bucket in the corner, ah yes bloodstains could be such a bitch.

He tapped on the glass door of the shower to get Kakashi's attention. Then opened his hand, slowly, deliberately, his thick rough fingers uncurling to reveal the sheaf of papers he'd been clutching as if his life depended on them. It might, all their lives might.

"Here you are kid. I was up half the night finishing them. Gave me writer's cramp."

Kakashi looked at him through the falling water, genuine concern creasing his brow. "Nothing permanent I hope?"

The old pervert set the papers down on the edge of the bathroom sink and sat on the closed toilet lid, wriggling his fingers in a way that was both goofy and mildly obscene

"The right kind of exercise should cure it, gentle squeezing. Something soft and warm… that I can curve my hand around..."

"You're drooling old man."

Jiraiya shot him a sly look. "So are you."

The plinking of water on tiles slowed, then stopped.

Kakashi's pale arm, shining with wetness, groped around for a towel past the glass door, before being followed by the rest of his pale wet body. He blotted his face then wrapped the towel around his hips. Jiraiya eyed him with professional appreciation. If he'd had those kinds of looks when he was younger he wouldn't have had to sneak around outside the women's bathhouse. They'd have invited him right in.

A large hand swatted a much finer one away from the pile of papers. "Hey careful you're still dripping, you'll smudge the sutra, it's only blood."

"Blood! Whose blood?" The idea seemed much more alarming than it would have a few weeks before.

"Mine of course. I incorporated elements from the seal I created to control the kyuubi with the chakra seal you brought back with you. They shouldn't effect anyone who isn't infected with demon, and they'll hold as long as they're in contact with skin. The chakra will still be there but inaccessible, unusable, so the effect will be like total chakra depletion. I believe you have some idea of what that's like."

Indeed he did. Kakashi felt an involuntary shudder travel up his spine.

"Nice work Jijii. Even the youngest kids can use them, without nobbling themselves and each other by mistake. You're a genius."

Jiraiya's broad face beamed. "Takes one to know one kid."

They were interrupted by a tentative knock at the door. "Is everything ok, do you, er, need anything?"

"Better watch out kid, your sensei's getting jealous."

"No, he's just being extra hospitable. Come in Ruka, invite Sampo too, the more the merrier. We'll have a three way, and Jijii can take notes. Although by the time it's published at least two of us will have tits… and be missing a few other important parts to make up for it."

Iruka perfectly understood Kakashi's need to tease right now, however inappropriate and brittle the humour, but it didn't prevent his predictable response.

Loud footsteps stomped away from the door. "You're disgusting, both of you."

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Outside the academy gymnasium they were met by Chouji, looking round and happy.

"Great food Kakshi-sensei, thanks,"

Iruka looked at him with first one eye then the other. Surely he couldn't be joking, Akimichi's never joked about food.

Food, he could smell it, real food. Once they were inside he understood, or rather he didn't. The kids were seated on their mats on the floor, gorging themselves on delicacies of every kind.

He looked at Jiraiya, then at Kakashi, who looked back in a suspiciously guilty way.

"I er, sent one of my dogs here, with a note and some cash, quite a bit of cash. Had the older kids go to the market and buy breakfast."

"You did what? You risked…"

"I needed to test a theory. The villagers went after you and me because Ketsuekimusha knows who we are, he can pick out our chakra. But he doesn't know the others… yet. As long as they stay masked they're invisible to him. The two of us were on Wolf Island for days before he tracked us down, remember? And these kids could use a good feed."

He stooped down to score a couple of bean cakes from the nearest box. "We all could."

Iruka wasn't a genius, but he was sharp enough to have survived this long living with one. He grabbed a few cakes for himself. "So for as long as the kids don't use chakra…"

"Exactly, at least until your cover's blown. With any luck they can get into strike position without the enemy knowing they're there. Then just get these seals on any way they can. A bit like playing tag, but the 'tags' are our life or death weapon."

So this really was going to be the kid's fight, not his. He'd have to stay in the background, leading from a distance. It wasn't going to be easy. He swallowed a cake in two bites.

"How do we know which ones to tag?"

"They have blank headbands. Probably so that you will see whichever mark you expect to see more easily. I'm hoping that the old wolf sennin is using them to create the mist for him. With them out of the picture everyone else should go back to normal."

Kakashi took a cloth bag from an inside pocket and pressed it into Iruka's hand. "Take these too. Soldier pills. But don't give them out until you need to or the kids will be popping them like jellybeans. I know. I used to."

Now that was a confession that couldn't be allowed to pass without comment. Iruka was just about to pry out some details, when Shizune teleported in, with such speed and power, that he was almost knocked flying. She ignored him. All her attention was focussed on the two other men, and her dark eyes were flashing back and forth between them. Iruka felt his heart skip a beat. Anything serious enough to make Shizune-san forget her manners simply didn't bear thinking about.

"Gai's gone, and he took Naruto. The whole back wall of the psychiatric wing is busted out… from the inside."

Instantly Kakashi was pure shinobi, as emotional and as tough as a rock. He turned to Jiraiya. "Get them back, anyway you can, just do whatever you have to."

If Ketsuekimusha could unleash the kyuubi it was all over for Konoha. …Forget Konoha. If he handed Naruto over to the Akatsuki it was a threat to the whole world.

"Iruka, get everyone ready. We strike now, starting with their western enclave. If we can drive them away from the source of the mist they'll be weaker. You take half the kids and attack head on. He'll sense you coming so be careful. Sam, take the rest and come round from the south in a flanking maneuver. That should drive them north, into open country.

He just hoped there'd never been a bloodbath up there that he didn't know of.

The boxes of food lay scattered and abandoned as Iruka called everybody to order. They may be hungry children but they were soldiers of Konoha first.

Iruka darted between the scared but determined children. "Okay, remember your teams from yesterday. Check that you have all your weapons, check that your shoelaces are tied properly, and lets go."

He caught Kakashi's arm as the copy nin prepared to teleport away. "And what will you do?"

Kakashi's expression was unreadable, but it still filled him with dread. "I'm going to check out the Uchiha district. Something tells me that that's where I'll catch the scent of wolf."

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Iruka signaled for his little troop to stop. There was a presence behind him that he recognised, in a very distressing way. At a silent signal the kids scattered, vanishing under eaves, behind walls, and into the slender morning shadows.

Iruka took a defensive stance, a fistful of shuriken at the ready. But she was already face to face with him.

Within seconds she was swarming with midgets. Six mini ninjas jumped her, bound her and presented her to their teacher like a completed homework assignment.

The Sound woman they'd rescued from the pirates? What the hell was she doing here? And why was she wearing a surgical mask? Well, he knew why, but how the hell had she known?

She shrugged off the ropes, peeled the seal from her forehead, and tossed it aside. Undeterred the kids closed in, bristling with weapons. Iruka picked up Jiraiya's seal. So she wasn't blood infected. She was also wearing a headband clearly marked with the emblem of Cloud, which suggested that she'd returned to her deeper loyalty.

"Don't let her touch the dust, if she makes a move kill her."

"Well what do you know? Hatake's little friend, Iruka wasn't it? I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing here. I heard that some kids out on the road had been asking questions, the rumour was that you and your… sweetie had never come home. I thought I'd offer to help look. But obviously they were wrong, although you do seem to have… other problems."

Iruka looked her over nervously, she didn't seem about to attack, and she hadn't been exactly hesitant in the past.

"So… how did you know about the masks?"

"There was a box of them at the gate, which is unguarded by the way. I assumed there must be some kind of poison in the air. Is there?"

"In a way, it's a Mist jutsu, the blood mist. It takes over your brain."

Her hand went to a weapon at her waist, Konohamaru responded by pressing a kunai to her throat, although he had to stretch to reach. The quivering of her tense neck muscles showed that she did not take the threat lightly.

"I _have _seen this red mist before, when my brother went missing. …Will you let me help you?"

Well that was unexpected.

They were in the very heart of the village, in a fight for Konoha's survival. This woman offering to fight with them was a jounin from Cloud, one of their oldest enemies, who had defected to Sound, their bitterest enemy.

Iruka loosened his grip on his shuriken and signaled for his 'soldiers' to stand down. "Um, okay."

They needed all the help they could get.

She shook out her hair and smoothed her clothes. "By the way, I meet two Sand ninjas at the gate. A blond woman and a man in a weird costume…"

"Don't tell me, they'd heard rumours that Hatake Kakashi was in trouble…"

"Yeah, they were looking for someone called Naruto."

"Did they take masks? Like you did?"

"With all this red in the air anyone would."

Then at least he should be able to count on Temari and Kankuro fighting for the right side… and Kakashi _had_ saved their brother's life.

"Perhaps you could go with the Aburames, your attacks should be… compatible. And we're aiming to immobilise not kill, your brother may well be with the ninjas we have to fight."

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The Uchiha district hadn't been so densely populated in over a decade. Kakashi picked out fifteen people without even trying. All had strong chakra signatures, definitely shinobi, but none stronger than chuunin. Piece of cake.

He uncovered his sharingan, he'd be able to tag them with seals before they knew what hit them.

The closest was standing in a tree, upside down. He slapped a seal on the back of her neck, put an arm around her waist and with a single hop, lay her on the ground. Now that he'd announced his presence he'd have to work fast. Flying from rooftop to treetop, from courtyard to abandoned peace garden, (whoa, he knew that guy, he'd been on a team with him once) he slipped a seal under the clothing of each 'mark', leaving them to lie where they fell. As the last of them crumpled at his feet, he scanned the vicinity from a roof, Obito's roof he realised with a stab of emotion. He'd decide which emotion later.

Handclaps echoed across the empty space, long and slow. Then a voice he had last heard on Ookami Island reached him through the mist.

"Well done Hatake-san, as impressive as ever."

Kakashi leapt to an open plaza. The mist had thickened, blotting out the sun so that the place was sealed in a blood-red twilight. Had the wolf blood eaten the sun for the whole village? The whole world? He saw movement, white within the red and knew that he was surrounded by dozens of wolves. They circled around the open space, claws clicking against the cobbles and their bloody slather adding to the mist. Drawing ever closer until he could smell their foetid breath past the constant reek of blood.

He stiffened into a fighting stance with his hand poised to unsheath his sword, as he tracked the movement of the apparitions and calculated the moves needed to take out the first six.

Hadn't they had this fight before?

He spoke into the mist. "But you already know that you can't defeat me. You're too old remember."

"On the contrary, I've defeated you already."

Ketsuekimushi stepped out of the mist, biting a dumpling from a wooden stick. "Good food in this place by the way. I'll have to remember the name of that stall. Bit of a dive, but the best ones often are."

Kakashi bypassed his sword and reached for a seal, snatching it up and a grabbing a kunai between each of the fingers of his other hand.

The wolf sennin pulled out an identical seal. He sniffed it and licked at the jutsu inscribed in dark red letters.

"These were a brilliant idea by the way, but it was a big mistake to use Shiroi Hekireki's blood. Is that why you killed him? So that you could use his blood for these seals? But surely you knew that his blood is already mine."

The old man smirked, holding the paper lightly between the finger and thumb of one hand, while he bit another dumpling from the skewer in the other. The paper disintegrated into a sprinkle of white dust and a puff of red vapour.

Kakashi watched in silent shock. But hadn't Jiraiya said he'd used his own blood? So who was Shiro Hekireki ?

The name fitted just one person, perfectly. The pirate boss, and he was Jiraira's son, they shared the same blood. Or close enough for the Wolf sennin to channel his jutsu to it.

Shit.

Even dead the damn pirate was still plaguing him. So that was his name, Shiroi Hekireki, White Thunder, the brute had always made him think of a horse. Maybe in a former life he'd been a white stallion. Or then again maybe not a stallion. If he'd been a gelding it might better explain his behaviour in this life.

Kakashi scanned the mist and its impatient wolves with his sharingan, molding chakra between his palms. His options were getting rapidly worse, but keeping Naruto out of the hands of the Akatsuki had to be his first priority. He had to buy Jiraiya some more time.

A tangled knot of lightening left his hands, making the air prickle with ozone. It struck over the heads of the wolves, he'd already learned that lesson, and into the surrounding buildings. They cracked, and shattered, sending cascades of stone and brick crashing onto the ghastly animals.

His hand went back to his sword, ready to finish the rest.

The sennin laughed. "Maybe you _can_ defeat me in a fair fight, but I have no intention of making this fair."

The remaining wolves raised their muzzles to the sky and howled. As the sound waves met, melded, and reinforced each other, Kakshi felt the ground vibrating and crumbling beneath him. Ketsuekimusha hadn't had this kind of power before.

He pressed his hands to his ears to try to deaden the echoing shrieks that seemed to be shaking his brain to mush. Almost as if in confirmation, his palms detected sticky trickles of blood. The red smears smudging his vision told him that his eyes were bleeding too.

But the sharingan wasn't obscured so easily.

He knelt low in the hollow being carved by the sound as he charged his blade with chakra. Through the sharingan he could see the waves, ever expanding circles, like ripples on a pond. And he could see the exact place where they met at their vortex.

With a great leap high into the air, he slashed through it and watched the circles of standing waves accumulate around his sword like hoops at a ring toss, until it was thrumming so hard that he could barely hold it still with both hands. Then with one great effort, he redirected the energy down the length of his blade, to strike his enemy, full force, point blank.

The sennin flew backwards in a blast of white power. Through the whitewashed wall of an empty mansion, through each of the interior walls, to land under a heap of rubble on the far side.

The grand old house collapsed, spewing a fountain of grey into the air.

As Kakashi rubbed at the powdered masonry adding to the blood sweat and grime already clinging to his forehead, he saw the old man. He was walking towards him, over the still-settling pile.

Kakshi ground his teeth together. That redirected attack should have flattened him along with the house. This was bad.

As the white figure emerged from the dust he heard him chuckle. "You really are wasting your time, and your energy. As I said, I've already defeated you."

Kakashi blinked the blood out of his eyes. "Maybe I've decided that you shan't win so easily?"

"I can't make the choice for you Hatake, but if you fight me here I'll unleash all my warriors, your warriors, against their own people. All of them, and my wolves. Do you really want Iruka-sensei to see what _they _can do to children?"

His chakra was still good, but he couldn't afford to waste it, he had to stall. "So that's one choice. What are the others?"

"There is only _one_ other choice. Take the power of the blood mist yourself. Make _all_ these good shinobi your servants, and servants of Konoha. Make my wolves your wolves. Declare yourself Hokage. That's the only way that everyone lives."

"You offer piss poor choices old man."

Kakashi stretched out his hand, pulling back a sleeve to bare the white flesh beyond his glove. He clenched his eyes shut, as if it was too painful to watch.

"Ok, do it."

The old man used the tip of the kunai to drag a red line along the palm of his own hand, then scraped the redness onto the blade. He held it in front of him at arm's length, like a religious offering.

Kakashi reached for the knife. Once it was firmly in his grip his eye curved into a smile.

"So when did you kill the old sennin Itachi? Or maybe not kill completely, just how much of him is still left in there?"

The sennin straightened to haughty tallness, white hair became a cascade of black, his simple garment became rich, dark, and pattered with red clouds.

So he was willing to show his true colours at last.

"Clever! I should have learned not to underestimate you by now Hatake. But I didn't kill him. Ketsuekimusha has been more or less dead for fifty years. It's the blood within him that's still alive."

"So you're using goukakyuu to control his body."

"Be grateful. The old man is much messier than I am. He enjoys seeing people bleed."

"But you, of course, are honest, merciful and wise."

Itachi's expression didn't change, but his voice took on a more threatening tone. "I didn't lie to you Hatake-san. If you all fight until you drop, Orochimaru will be here within a day. Of course as soon as I withdraw the mist he'll have a very rebellious village on his hands. And that should keep him out of our way for a very long time. If you eventually destroy him, well then that's good too."

He licked at the crimson still oozing from his palm, lapping at it with broad strokes of his tongue, and smacking his lips in appreciation, as if it tasted like honey.

"Blood Hatake. The blood of the wolf. Accept it and be Ketsuekimusha's true heir, use it to control the mist, it's the only way to protect this miserable village you value so much. And the only way to save your precious sensei and the children he's about to die with.

Kakashi held the kunai between his finger and thumb, still dripping with the sennin's blood… and dropped it… point down.

Immediately red bubbled up around the edges of the blade. The release as the mist streamed from the ground knocked him back like a shock wave. A tsunami of hate and malice.

Itachi's handsome face remained calm. "Kakashi-kun, I don't see how you think releasing _more_ hostile spirits can help you. Unless you accept the blood jutsu yourself, you won't be able to control them."

"And you think you can Itachi? Didn't you recognise the part of the village we're standing in?"

The mist was swirling, roaring, like the thrumming of a powerful engine, and he had to yell to be heard above it.

"Or did hate and ambition blind even those Uchiha eyes?"

Itachi glanced around at the ruined buildings from within the eye of the red tornado, and saw. The blood that had just been aroused was the blood of his clan, his own victims.

Kakashi caught one last look at his still impassive face before their sharingans locked. And as the mist enclosed them in a suffocating world of red, he was lost within the spinning wheels. Seeing through them, and… through a tiny window at the centre, right into Itachi's soul.

At the same moment Itachi was within his, and he felt a tug at his very essence.

"A blessing! You're protected by a sacred blessing!"

There was a flare of red power that made him feel as if his head was about to explode and Itachi's voice filling the whole universe.

"_How did you know?" _

The connection broke, and the mist started to dissipate, it's link to the mortal world disrupted. Itachi was gone but the revelation that brief moment of contact had exposed made Kakashi shiver. As much with hope, as much as with the cold sweat covering his body. He'd expected some kind of answer, but the sharingan had revealed a question. Why?

Did Itachi really not understand what he'd done? Did he really feel that the murder of his family and his clan was justified?

Just what had he expected to find through Obito's eye?

Deprived of its intended victim the blood sucked back down into the ground, leaving behind a frail relic of what was once a man. The old sennin now looked more like a crumpled rag than someone who had armies at his control, using nothing more than his blood jutsu and his mind.

Kakashi stood staring at him, he had little choice, he'd used the sharingan too much to risk moving. When Iruka and Sampo found him he knew that he'd been standing there for some time, but he had no idea just how long. He sagged into his partner's support, his body heavy and leaden, well that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"Kakashi, what the hell happened here?

"It was Itachi, he tried to take something from me. Whatever it was he wanted it very badly. It's almost as if he tried to steal my soul. But he couldn't because it's not mine, it's yours Iruka, and it was protected by a greater power. The blessing Sam placed on us, it must have prevented him from tearing us apart."

He let Iruka lower him so that he was seated on the ground. "Is it over, is the jutsu broken?"

"I think so. We were doing really well at first, these kids are incredible, but then suddenly all the seals failed. All of them, everyone we'd already defeated came back at us, stronger than ever. I was planning a retreat into the forest when the mist vanished, just like that. And everyone we were fighting. Well they collapsed, as if they'd all blacked out. We sent everyone back to the school and came to find you."

Kakashi leaned forward so that his head was between his knees. "Let's hope they have. Blacked out that is. This would be an evil thing for them to have to remember."

Sampo knelt by the sennin's body and clapped his hands together, he was a holy man first and a fighter only by necessity. "Is he dead Kaka-kun?"

"Yes… and no. I think he's in a coma, after a fashion."

Kakashi pulled the kunai from the ground beside him, it's blade still glistening red.

"Just think of the things people are willing to do, and willing to give up, for a little more power. Sasuske, Orochimaru, Itachi. But all _I_ have to do is prick my finger with this and I'll be the next Ketsuekimusha, I can take over the world.

Iruka grabbed his wrist, forcing the bloody knife up and away. "But you wouldn't want that would you?"

Kakshi looked at him, the way his brow was furrowed with concern, the endless play of emotions in those bottomless eyes. The sweet love.

"No."

Only things that were given freely were truly worth having. Everything else was so much baggage.

He took the kunai in his other hand and lay it gently on the ground. "I already have everything I want."


	32. Chapter 32

Konoha Hospital rose from its little green oasis, in the landscape of brick, stone and asphalt that was the very heart of the village. It was a place that Jiraiya had been more successful at avoiding than most. But it was still far too familiar.

One wing, distinctive for its lower profile and barred windows, seemed to have heamorrhaged half its contents through a missing section at its rear. But amongst the debris, Gai's trail was bright and unmistakable. For once Jiraiya was glad of the man's extravagant chakra signature, and clearly Gai was doing nothing at all to hide it. He tracked it out towards the village boundary, and to a breach in the towering perimeter wall.

A huge breach in the wall. Gai must really be going all out. That thing had more protective wards on it than a jounin's youngest daughter on her first date.

As he prepared to follow the trail through the gaping hole, he turned to look back at the village. To see the sky dominated by a crimson cloud, like a sickeningly unnatural thunderhead, thickening and swirling over the Uchiha district. This did not look good. He'd better hurry.

He raced for the cover of the trees, and was shocked to discover how many ninja's were still in the forest. He'd assumed they would all have moved in for the attack on the village by now. But Gai was definitely here too, and so was Naruto, the flows of energy where they had passed fairly sang out to him from the myriad of other chakra trails.

What to do? He rubbed his hands over his face, smearing the lines of paint into his perspiration. He was a cunning old fox but strategy had never been one of his strengths, and he knew that he couldn't outrun Gai. And if Naruto was being influenced by the blood mist, well, then no one could stand against him and hope to survive. At least not with all their body parts intact. Unfortunately Naruto knew him well enough to know exactly which body parts to aim for too.

While he was still considering, he felt, more than saw, a sudden change in energy from the direction of Konoha. It was like a release of tension, the calm after a storm.

So the first battle had been lost and won, but who was the winner? This called for drastic measures.

"Underworld swamp!"

The forest floor bubbled and oozed, so that the more those trapped in it moved, the tighter they were trapped. An extravagant show of force, but it seemed to have worked. He counted fifty-two ninjas stuck in the mud, fifty-one of them from Konoha. Useful to have them out of the equation, but there were only two ninja's that he really cared about right now. And, as he sharpened his focus, it became painfully clear that _they _were not there.

Shit. If the Akatsuki had Naruto the kid was as good as dead. It wouldn't matter who had won the battle for Konoha. And the kyuubi in _their_ hands, would become an even more evil force than it had been on its own.

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Fortunately Kakashi was too weak to put up much resistance, or even much of an argument, as Iruka and Sampo half dragged, half carried him into the hospital. Shizune was waiting and led them to a bright tidy room. She stood frowning at him as his companions stripped him, dressed him in a skimpy hospital gown, and eased him into the bed.

"You're lucky. One of my patients just vacated this room. Otherwise you'd be on the floor."

He forced himself up onto his elbows. "Well if you need the space, my bed at home is nice and comfy. Iruka-sensei will take good care of me."

She used the flat of her hand to push his head back into the pillow. "_You_ need the space. One day of observation and a good night's rest. Minimum." She nodded towards the others. They can come back in a little while. I'm not a fool, I understand what we're up against and I know you still have a lot to discuss."

Kakashi wilted into the bed's embrace. It wasn't comfy, but it would do. And no, Shizune was not a fool, he might be thinking of her as many things right now but a fool wasn't one of them.

She took two steps back. "But talk only, and you're to stay in bed." Breaking eye contact for a moment, she shot Iruka a piercing look. "Alone."

Iruka stared at the floor, his cheeks glowing red. "That time… We… we were only kissing."

Kakashi didn't bother to suppress the mischief flirting in his blue eye. The red one was too dulled to join in anyway. "Surely I'm allowed one kiss."

Shizune didn't miss the tell-tale sign of chakra depletion. And as Iruka leaned over the bed and brushed his lips against Kakashi's cheek, he caught the full force of her scowl. He pulled away and almost ran to join Sampo by the door.

Kakashi, his moment of fun over, turned his attention back to her. "So where did you put the old wolf sennin?"

"Two rooms down. Temari and Shikamaru are guarding him until we can get some ANBU back on their feet.

Temari? He'd have to ask about that later. "Sam, will you be leaving now?"

"I can stay if you want me too, the shrine's survived this long it can go a few more days."

Kakashi nodded his appreciation. "And Ruka, I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yeah. I'll deal with the kids then come right back."

"Good, do that. And don't be afraid to wake me. This isn't over yet."

Once he was alone Kakashi swallowed, then nipped the side of his thumb with his teeth, drawing a bead of blood. "Go to Jiraiya."

Now he could give in to his exhaustion. He slid the rest of the bag of soldier pills he'd scored from Iruka's pocket under his pillow, snuggled under the cover and closed his eyes.

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By the time Sakura reached the academy gymnasium it was almost empty.

She's woken up, weak, starving and feeling decidedly out of the loop, just a few hours earlier. Naturally she'd been beyond aghast to learn that Shizune, with a staff of less than ten, had been taking care of the entire overflowing hospital population. But now that the blood mist had lifted, nurses and medics had come drifting back to resume their duties at a fairly steady trickle.

That's why, when word had reached her that the children were on their way back to the academy, after fighting off the enemy… Children! Fighting! She had insisted on going over to help.

She found her friends and fellow chuunins hanging out there with about a dozen assorted kids.

"Ugh, this place is a mess." Her foot scuffed against a half empty container of rice and plums. She picked it up, then seeing nowhere better to put it, dropped it back onto the floor."

"Should have seen it half an hour ago." Chouji commented, finding an unopened box of fried rice balls and tucking into it. "Parents everywhere. Crying, screaming, threatening. They didn't even stop to thank us for saving them and their 'little darlings' while they were all 'under the influence' and off their heads."

"Under the influence?"

"Yeah, this weird jutsu. It had the whole damn town screwed up. You missed all the fun Sakura-chan."

"No she didn't." Neiji was staring at a high window, watching a small flock of pigeons circling around for the third time. "It's not over."

His words fell amongst them like lead weights, no one had really believed otherwise.

Surprisingly Hinata, Konoha's quietest ninja, was the first to speak. She took her younger sister by the hand.

"I'm going to go home now. Come on Neiji. We'll take all these other children with us too. They can stay at the main house for now."

Tenten lay a strong but soft hand on her friend's narrow shoulder. Hinata seemed too small and too fragile to take on so much responsibility. "Your parents didn't come for Hanabi?"

Hinata jumped as if she'd been taken by surprise, she tapped her fingers together nervously and shook her head. "Most of these children have jounin parents. I expect they're all still…you know. But the servants can help take care of them until everyone is well again, and we've found all the people who are missing…."

She hadn't intended those last words to sound so much like a plea. She gulped and watched Neiji still watching the birds. "I…I don't want to leave them here for Iruka-sensei to deal with. He'll have other things on his mind."

'Oh you mean him and… Ow!" Kiba glared at Ino, rubbing his leg where she'd kicked it.

Ino was glaring back just as hard but she still kicked him again, just to make her warning crystal clear. "I think we should all go home. I just hope my Mum and Dad know who I am by now."

Sakura stepped outside, letting her eyes sweep over the damaged academy building and the hole in the skyline where the Hokage Tower had been. When everyone else was gone, Lee came and stood beside her. He didn't say anything, didn't prance or posture, he simply slipped his hand into hers.

They stood side by side. In the place where they had both set out on the path to become the ninjas they now were. Somehow it seemed as if it had all been inevitable. As if everything they had done so far had been in preparation for this. This week, this day, this defining moment in the history of Konoha.

After what seemed a long time, Sakura kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Lee. Will you call in at my house on your way home? Let them know… I want to wait here for Iruka-sensei."

Lee's eyebrows rose so high they threatened to disappear into his hairline. He took a deep breath, barely brushed his lips against her, then vanished into the streets at lightening speed.

Iruka arrived to find Sakura sitting on the lone wooden swing in the academy play-yard. He hovered nearby, not sure if he should intrude, but she beckoned him over.

"How's Kakashi-sensei?"

"As weak as water, but he'll be fine as long as he doesn't irritate Shizune-san into strangling him."

They smiled at each other sadly. No words were needed, but Iruka knelt down to her level and hugged her anyway.

"Don't worry, Jiraiya-sama will bring him back."

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Maito Gai's vision slowly came into focus. He was in a tree, with someone draped over his shoulder. So what was he rescuing Lee from this time? But wasn't he on his way to rescue Kakashi? His rival must have had a very difficult time, he'd lost a lot of weight.

Gai pulled the limp body onto his lap.

Naruto? What was he doing in the forest with Naruto, the youthful pride of his rival's team? He noticed that the bold teen's orange sweatshirt was hiked up, revealing a second seal taped over the kyuubi seal around his navel. He peeled it off, carefully.

Naruto's fist hit him square in the jaw.

Gai pulled himself to his feet from where he'd fallen, with entirely the wrong kind of sparkles buzzing around his head. He worked his manly mandible… wow, but wow! Since when did Kakashi's kids punch like that?

Naruto was standing, fuming with rage and righteous indignation, a few yards away.

"Keep your hands off me you creep? Is Iruka-sensei the only one around here who's not a damn pervert?"

Now Maito Gai was not flighty and shadowy like most of the shinobi he knew. In fact he prided himself on being steady and sensible, but there was no sense at all in any of this.

"Why am I here? With you? I was, or thought I was, on the border of Wave Country, seeking Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei. Er, _you_ haven't seen them have you?"

The nice guy pose just sort of happened by itself.

Naruto stared at him. At least _that_ was something he recognised. Gai-sensei was still… Gai-sensei, which was good, or at least no more disturbing than it ever was.

"Yaknow, I think it's, er, starting to come back. There was this big-assed explosion, in the records room. I was there with Sakura… Sakura!" He sucked in a lungful of air as if he was about to scream, but he didn't. He grabbed Gai's arm and tugged on it, like a demanding child. "We've gotta make sure she's okay."

A dazzling white flash gleamed from dazzling white teeth. "I think going back to Konoha is a very good idea."

Jiraiya had just abandoned his victims, like flies on flypaper, to continue his search. And as luck would have it he saw his target walking straight towards him, an unmistakable figure, distinguished by his height and the breadth of his shoulders as much as his tight green clothing. And as he feared, he was not alone. Someone was with him, someone smaller, releasing short jagged bursts of chakra. And unlike the mist, this was an evil power that he recognised only too well.

He'd take out the big guy first, then deal with Naruto. A low-level rasengan should do it.

Of course… had Jirauya stopped and thought, he would probably have noticed how different this sparkly and normal (well normal for Gai) Gai was, to the silent skulking presence that he'd been aware of in Konoha's forests for the past week or so. But stopping and thinking wasn't one of the great toad sennin's great strengths either.

Gai was still quite giddy and disoriented, so the chakra blast caught him completely unaware, flooring him far more soundly and decisively than Naruto's angry punch. He crashed to the ground like a toppled tree.

Naruto took a few moments to process what he'd just seen.

"Ero-sennin? Is that you?"

Jiraira appeared from behind a tree. "Naruto? Are you… normal?"

"What kind of dumbass question is that?"

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of a little dog. He collapsed at Jiraiya's feet, wheezing and gasping for breath,

"For an old geezer you move pretty fast. Looks like I caught up just a bit too late."

"Pakkun?"

"Master sent me to tell you that the blood jutsu's broken."

There seemed to be a glow of something, joy, no… pride, in the pug's dark eyes. He sat on the cold dirt staring up at them, tail twitching.

"That's right, Kakashi defeated it. Hot damn, I wish I'd seen it up close, the snotty little brat grew up to be quite something didn't he Jijii?"

"So you mean Gai's okay now… that I just…" Jiraiya looked at the impressive hunk of muscle splayed at his feet. "How do I get him back to the village?"

"Don't look at me old man. Master's already flat on his back, if I hang around much longer he'll be in a coma."

And the dog was gone.

Naruto stared at the spot where Pakkun had been sitting. His brow furrowed in deep thought. "Ero-sennin, can I ask you something?"

So here it came. How the hell was he going to explain all this in terms Naruto would understand? The blood mist, the bombs, the battle for the survival of Konoha, his unprovoked attack on Gai… He didn't understand most of it himself.

"Are Kakashi-sensei's _dogs _wearing masks as part of their uniforms now?"

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Kakashi did not want to spend the night alone in the hospital. And he knew that if he could get home, and into his own bed, Iruka would not have the heart to drag him back. Of course Iruka would be angry, but that was nothing he hadn't dealt with before. But he had to be off the premises _before _anyone noticed. Otherwise he was stuck here until morning.

He had just started to scour the room for his clothes when Iruka walked in.

"Kakashi, why are you out of bed? _How_ are you out of bed? I thought you'd sleep for at least a few more hours, if not until tomorrow."

Shit. Maybe he could sweet talk him. No, not a chance, not Iruka, he was stuck until morning.

He let out a long resigned sigh, whilst trying not to look or sound the least bit guilty. "Oh, I took a couple of pills, just to boost up my chakra a bit."

Iruka felt for his pocket, and stopped mid-pat, as everything became clear "Kakashi? Just how many soldier pills have you taken?"

"Um…six?

Iruka took a deep breath, he'd already started to colour. "Six? Don't you know that anything more than three is very dangerous?

Kakashi watched him with proffessional ninja detatchment. For some reason whenever Iruka lost his temper some strands of hair came loose, trailing like threads of black silk over his temples and cheekbones. He found the effect quite adorable. "You know you're really cute when you're angry.

Iruka's eyes narrowed to slits of menace. "Then get ready to die from cute. Six! What on earth were you thinking?"

He hadn't been kidding, Iruka was sexy as hell when he was this angry. If it wasn't for the risk of Shizune catching him he jump his sensei right there. "But I was starting from a much lower chakra level than most people ever have. Okay, so maybe eight. Look I wasn't counting."

Iruka seemed to tower over him, face flushed, teeth bared. "Give me the bag. Now! Where did you hide it."

They both dived for the pillow at the same time. He might have recently been in the fight of his life, and used every scrap of energy his body could muster, but Sharingan Kakashi was still Sharingan Kakashi. He held the bag in triumph over his head, out of reach.

Sampo walked in to see Iruka pressed against Kakashi, one hand on his shoulder, the other reaching for the bag. Kakashi's free hand, meanwhile was inching it's way below the waistband of Iruka's pants. The fact that he was wearing nothing but a flimsy gown, flapping open to offer a naked rear view didn't make the situation look any more appropriate either.

"Oh, excuse me, If you're, er, busy… I can come back later."

Kakshi lowered the bag "No. My dear husband is just being over protective." He stole a quick kiss. "Iruka, I've got to do what I've got to do, you know that. It's not a coincidence that I ended up facing off with Itachi. He _didn't_ just come here for Naruto."

Iruka stopped spluttering long enough to gape at him, anger, confusion and slow understanding struggling for control of his features. "So _that's_ why you went to the Uchiha district."

"The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime. "

Sampo sat on the edge of the bed, radiating a pool of calm in the atmosphere of prickly anxiety and chemically induced unstable chakra. "This man, this itachi. He committed great crimes didn't he?"

Kakashi sat next to him, not bothering to hide the grimness he felt inside. "Yes. More than you can imagine. He slaughtered his family and his whole clan. All except his little brother."

"And he tried to steal your soul."

"That's what it felt like."

Iruka resisted the urge to wedge himself between the two other men. Instead he pulled up a chair from the far side of the room. "Why would a human need a human soul?"

"Because he couldn't or wouldn't use his own? You must admit there are lean pickings where he is now."

Kakashi, looked at Sampo hard. Trying to imagine how he would look if he hadn't become a monk, in rich clothes, maybe even with hair… "You grandfather, he was a civilian member on the council, wasn't he Sam?"

"Yes, for quite a long time. He was very popular."

"So you might have met Uchiha Itachi… when you were boys?"

"I met quite a few of them, on formal occasions. Uchihas aren't easy to forget."

"And you might have told him the wolf legend."

Sampo raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. "I might? Is there any one I didn't tell?"

Iruka snorted, true, he had a point. "So, Itachi knew of the wolf legend, and how the wolf had tried to steal the monk's soul, through sex."

"But we weren't having sex, we were trying to kill each other."

Death and sex. The two sides of life's circle.

Death had given Itachi the ultimate sharingan attack. And how many times at the culmination of a perfect orgasm had he felt Iruka's soul to be part of his, and all of his to be Iruka's. The union now cemented by a sacred promise. Was there someone with whom Itachi had felt the same perfect fulfillment of love? Could it have been him? With his memory wiped after the fact?

Iruka's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Itachi did know the wolf legend, or he thought he did. He was on Ookami island, I saw him there. But he had a different version. He said that the she wolf was alone because she'd killed her pack herself. And that she abandoned the monk to go back into the mountains, because it was her home."

They both looked at Sampo, and were surprised to see him smiling.

"There are lots of versions of these old legends. All of them true, more or less."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. Killed her whole pack? That sounded very familiar.

"Perhaps that's what Itachi really wanted, to come home. With his choice of Hokage he could. Perhaps there's something he still hopes to find here."

Something he had to leave behind. Chiyo-baasama's jutsu exchanged a living soul for a dead one. Were there other jusu's that did the same, was there a sharingan jutsu he didn't know of?

It was Kakashi's turn to snort. "If he wants a pure and innocent soul I don't know why he'd come after mine."

Sampo looked at him hard. Kakashi knew that his old friend could see way more than he was happy to reveal. "You said he was able to reach it through the sharingan. It's the sharingan that's the key."

"So you're suggesting that Itachi spared Sasuske so that he'd have use of an innocent soul when he wanted it." Kakashi's face darkened. "But Sasuske is hardly innocent. Not now."

"Exactly, you're all he has left Kaka-kun."

Kakshi's eye curved into a smile. Right, leftovers. A poor second choice with a dead man's eye.

Iruka wasn't fooled for a moment. He looked at Sampo apologetically, then sat on the bed next to his new husband and folded his arms around him in a protective embrace. "You said this wasn't over. He'll come back for you, he won't give up Kakashi. He's an Uchiha."

Kakashi's smile widened into a grin. "Yeah. They _are_ tenacious bastards."

Iruka was right. He would, but this time Itachi's attack wouldn't be through a medium. It would be in person, full force, head on. Unimaginably more dangerous.

Kakashi realised that he was the only one laughing. "Come on you two. Have a little faith. Do you really think he can take me so easily?"

And if they did, then that made three.


	33. Chapter 33

The three men, an unconventional triangle, lingered together in the hospital room through the afternoon. Kakashi had quickly resigned himself to staying put until the following day. He lay quietly, on the border between waking and sleeping, using his long since perfected expertise for recouping depleted chakra.

Iruka sat propped next to him, feeling slightly awkward with no papers to grade, reading some magazines that he'd found and flicking through a weapons catalogue. He glanced up from time to time at Sampo, seated on a hard chair on the other side of the room. He was reading one of Kakashi's Icha Icha books. From his serene demeanor and calm expression it might have been mistaken for a sacred text in his hands, if it wasn't for its garish colour and the scandalous illustration on the cover.

Iruka let his mind drift, wondering how this man, who had shown himself to be so full of passion, could be content to love someone that he knew would never be his. And why _he _knowing that Kakashi was his, that the love Sampo hungered for had been given to _him_ alone, could still be insecure enough to feel jealous. It made him feel guilty, as well as jealous.

Iruka left the room from time to time, leaving the other two to their comfortable silence and wandering the hospital, in the hope of finding some information about the others still being watched and treated. He told himself that it was because he was restless, that he'd never had as much patience as a ninja should. But really he knew that it was fear that drove him. Fear that Kakashi was still the only capable jounin in the village and that if Itachi made a second attempt on him too soon, he'd be facing him alone. Again.

He didn't delude himself that he and the other chuunins could offer much help, not against Uchiha Itachi. Or that Kakashi would let them try.

He saw a number of familiar faces as he peeped in through doorways, and to his relief many of them were alert and propped up in their beds. But even from outside the rooms he could tell that they had a long way to go in regaining their power. The Akatsuki's bomb may not have worked the way it was intended but it had still been an effective weapon in bringing Konoha to its knees.

It wasn't just the jounins who were waking up. The hospital corridors too seemed more populated and lively, as if the whole place was slowly emerging from some kind of hibernation.

By the time he returned from his most recent excursion, clouds had gathered in the sky beyond the window. Darkening the room prematurely even as the sun westered in its short, low loop across the sky. Sampo stood up from his uncomfortable chair.

"I'll be back in a little while Kaka-kun, Iruka-san. Is there anything you'd like me to get you? From outside?"

Kakashi barely stirred as Iruka settled back beside him, to watch and to wait. "No thanks. We're good."

When Sam returned it was dark but for the glow of a nightlight behind the bed. He flipped on the light, startling them both from their half slumber and dropped a white cardboard box on Iruka's lap.

"A little present for you both, in lieu of cake."

Iruka passed it on to Kakashi, who sat up and snapped its ribbon as if it was tissue paper.

The box contained walnut sized chocolate spheres, glistening with dew from the chill outside.

Kakashi's eyes opened wide, glowing like lanterns. "Sam! You didn't. How?"

Old Moe's granddaughter. I heard that she'd become a cook too, and that she knew some interesting family recipes. So I tracked her down. I know you always liked these."

"Like them! I adore them. Where on earth did she get fresh cherries at this time of year? And not just fresh, there're huge. I always thought that must have been my imagination, these giant cherries, because I was… small."

"Well you know that Moe always had his sources. I think these cherry pleasure bombs of his were the real reason you came to the house as often as you did."

"You know perfectly well I'd have begged to be taken along, even if you fed me dog food."

Sam and Kakashi exchanged a soft look that made Iruka's heart lurch painfully.

"I did once, remember."

"You mean I _wasn't_ supposed to save that for Pakkun?"

"Well… I was deliberately vague, I just wanted to see what you'd do."

Kakashi dropped one of the cherries into his mouth and lay back onto the bed, chewing slowly. "Gah, now I can die happy."

Iruka felt the blood drain from his face. He wished he'd chosen another way of putting it. But he took a cherry as it was offered and bit into it. It was, in a word, incredible. "Wow."

Kakashi turned towards him, watching the pleasure light in his eyes. "Aren't they?"

"What's it filled with, cream?"

"Clotted cream."

"And it's soaked in… some kind of wine, and…?"

Kakashi leaned in, to lick a crumb of chocolate from his lower lip, it quivered in response and Iruka found himself staring into Kakashi's eyes, trapped in their unmatched gaze like a cobra's next victim.

His chocolate scented words were warm and breathy across his cheek. "She'll never tell. Cooks have more secrets than ninjas, right Sam?"

Iruka blinked as he was reminded of the third man's presence. He turned to see him already standing by the door.

"Well I'll be going now, is the couch still mine?"

"Er, sure, as long as you want it. I'll stay here just a little while longer, I have to get this idiot to eat some real food too."

Kakashi was holding his third cherry in one hand while he used the tip of his tongue to lap at the luscious filling in it's little hole. His other hand, meanwhile, was slowly creeping a path up Iruka's inner thigh, while the deep lust in his eye made the connection between the two embarrassingly obvious. "A ninja's life is dangerous and uncertain, so always eat desert first. Rule number…"

Iruka slapped the hand away and abandoned him to his gluttony.

Once outside the door Iruka glanced back to make sure that Kakashi couldn't see him, then took Sampo's hand in both of his. "Thanks, and not just for the cherry bombs. Thanks for reminding him that he has good memories too."

Unexpectedly Sampo pulled him in and hugged him tight, before turning sharply and walking away.

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Jiraiya could have carried Gai, he was certainly strong enough. But even if the blood jutsu was gone. It didn't mean that the threat from the Akatsuki had vanished with it. Taking Gai with them would put him in danger at the very least, since he was unconscious and unable to defend himself. And protecting Naruto had always been _his_ prime objective, splitting his focus would only endanger them all. So… Gai would probably wake up sooner rather than later, and gambol back to Konoha eager to fight, revitalised and clueless. No one would notice the difference.

He used an air jutsu to cover him with a smattering of leaves and led Naruto away.

"Hey Ero-sennin, you're going the wrong way, we've gotta get back to Konoha and see Sakura."

"Sakura? Oh yes, she's fine Naruto, just fine. You saved her, you protected her from the explosion. You saved everyone."

"Wow! I did? Me? Whoa amazing what you can do sometimes without even trying. So. Er, why are we going the wrong way?"

Jiraiya knew very little about the Akatsuki, they weren't called a _secret_ society for nothing. But one thing that he _had_ gleaned from his years of snooping was that they seldom worked alone. Maybe they didn't completely trust each other's competence, or maybe they just didn't completely trust each other. But however many there were hidden in the surrounding countryside, if he didn't stop Naruto from shedding fox chakra, they wouldn't remain hidden much longer.

"Naruto, do you remember when the Akatsuki went after Gaara?'

"Well yeah, I'm not likely to forget that in a hurry, after what the damn fuckers did to him."

"Well the reason they were able take him in the first place was that he was using everything he had to protect Suna and its people, rather than concentrating on protecting himself."

Naruto scratched the top of his shaggy head. "Well yeah, he is the Kazekage, that's his job."

"But you aren't Hokage Naruto." Jiraiya gave him a sly wink. "At least not yet."

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The hospital kitchens had returned to producing vast quantities of barely edible food as if nothing had happened. To the people working there nothing had. As he returned their dirtied dishes, Iruka marveled at the difference in quality between the meal he'd just finished and the exquisite confections that Sampo had provided for them.

The pleasures of wealth, why would anyone give that up to become a monk?

As he approached Kakashi's room, he saw someone walking towards him, a chuunin with long spiky black hair above a well-bandaged face, carrying a scroll.

Iruka slapped a hand on his shoulder, hesitated for just a moment then pulled him into a fierce hug. "Kotetsu, I am so glad to see you." He ran a finger across the bandages. "And you're back at work already."

They entered the room together and Kotetsu handed Kakashi the scroll.

His official duty completed, he grinned the toothiest of toothy grins. "Yeah, Izumo is still out cold. I'll be teasing him about that for months, being stronger than him, that is. But Genma-san is back to feeling up the nurses and Asuma-san is pleading to be allowed some smokes. I expect they'll both be kicked out pretty soon. A few of the others have already been discharged. The council members are having a rare fit too. They'll be having a meeting tomorrow. That's what this is for."

He indicated the scroll that Kakashi was just starting to unroll.

Kakashi laughed and released it so that it sprang back into a coil. "But this isn't for me, this is a summons for Hokage-sama to appear before the council."

Kotetsu shrugged. "Shizune-sama said she's not up for it yet. Said I should give it to you, and Ibiki-san agreed. It's all yours as far as I'm concerned."

Iruka touched his hand. "He's right Kakashi, you _are_ Hokage, or at least acting Hokage. You've been the only leader Konoha's had since we came back through that gate."

Kakashi shrugged off the touch and flailed his hands wide above his head. "That's… that's ridiculous. What about Shizune, Jiraiya…

Iruka had the look he reserved for telling kids that, yes, they would be going outside to practice, even though it was raining, hailing, blizzarding and/or blowing up a typhoon. "Shizune has been in the hospital, she's barely set foot outside, and Jiraiya-sama has been taking orders from _you_!"

Kakashi could feel his head starting to spin, maybe he _had_ taken too many of those damn pills. Did they cause paranoia and delusions of grandeur? Field command was one thing, it was what he'd been raised to do, but no one in their right mind would ask _him _to run a decent sized pissing contest, much less a whole freaking ninja village.

He shrank back against his pillows. "You've all decided, I'm trapped aren't I? If I set foot outside this room before morning Shizune will have my balls and if I don't the damn council will be howling for them as soon as I screw up, which will be… immediately."

"Mmm, that would be a problem, but I already promised to love you forever, so I'd just have to deal." Iruka leaned closer, pulling Kakshi's head onto his shoulder and running his fingers through his fluffy hair. "Come on don't sweat it. Just carry on doing what you've been doing for the past couple of days, you'll be great. It's not permanent, you're just getting your feet a little wet, that's all."

Kakashi couldn't help release some of the tension from his body at the soothing contact and the scent of Iruka. He worried the collarbone pressed against his lips with the tip of his tongue, then grazed it with his teeth. "Iruka, have I ever told you how much I hate having wet feet? I swear, if it wasn't for my oath of loyalty I would be out of that gate so fast…"

Kotetsu blinked back to the real world. And just as the show was starting to get interesting.

"Oh that's another thing, the gate. People keep arriving, lots of them, we asked them to wait and they are. Which is pretty wild, since there's no one really guarding it, but we took it to mean that they're friendly at least."

"Er, people? Why are they there? Did anyone ask?"

"They all want to see you. Ibiki-san told them that you couldn't see visitors today, but they don't look as if they plan to go anywhere. They seem to think something bad has happened to you."

Well he'd hardly describe the past few weeks as good. Except perhaps for some particularly sweet moments with Iruka. On the whole it ranked for badness right up there with some of the worst times of his life. But he was surprised that it was public enough to have attracted an audience.

"Get some people down to the gate then. Start processing them and letting them in, or if they want to wait tell them I'll go down there to talk to them in the morning. Send Genma for now, sounds as if he could use something to do. And send Rock Lee and that Hyuuga boy, Neiji, from Gai's team. Between them they'll be able to see trouble coming _and_ beat the crap out of it."

"Right Kakashi-san, er temporary acting Hokage, that is. And I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow."

Kakashi's glower threatened to turn into a sulk.

Iruka hit him, smiled and answered brightly. "He'll be there, I'll make sure of it." Scooting off the bed he stood and bowed politely. "Good bye for now Kotetsu-san."

The messenger bowed to each of them and let himself out of the room.

Kakashi just glowered some more. "I suppose this makes you temporary acting Shizune."

"I've been called worse."

"Not by me you haven't. Will you at least come with me tomorrow?"

"I can't, I wasn't asked."

"Then stay here tonight Ruka, please?"

He hesitated, something in Kakashi's tone told him that this was more than a simple request. "But you really do need a good night's sleep."

"I'll sleep better with you than without you, I promise."

Iruka sat back down, body twisted so that they were facing each other. "I'm amazed you can sleep at all after those pills."

"That's not the problem. I told you, I used to pop them like candy when I was a kid."

It wasn't really the responsibility and the council that had him so much on edge. He could see it now, and admit it to himself, so why not to Iruka, the one he'd just sworn to make his life's partner? Wasn't that part of the bargain, to share the worst as well as the best, and to trust Iruka enough to believe that it wouldn't chase him away?

"I'm afraid Ruka. Not of dying, but of living, if Itachi… That first time he caught me, the things he made me see, the delusions…" he cradled his head in his hands as if it was throbbing.

"It was hell. A living hell."

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It took several hours for Jiraiya to take Naruto to his hideout. Stopping to eat along the way, ambling at a comfortable pace, while Naruto fretted and stressed about going home, to check on his teammate. It was on a nondescript mountain, amongst the clusters of small peaks that added interest and grandeur to the thick forests of fire country. Normally it would look bare rising from the sea of leaves. But at this time of year, when the forest had shed its mantle of green, the thin covering of pines that staggered up the mountainside, becoming stubbier, more twisted, and scrawnier along the way, made it look almost lush.

The sizable cave about halfway up had been his second favourite haunt as a youth, not counting those places where a glimpse of a partially, or completely, undressed woman was a possibility. His top favourite, a series of caves closer to the river, and closer to Konoha, was a place he would never set foot in again. It had been forever tainted by Orochimaru's evil.

He laughed at Naruto laughing at him as he clattered up the loose stones on the leeward slope. And laughed much louder when Naruto screamed and almost fell, as he flushed a fat tanuki from the cosy nook inside the cave entrance that it had made its winter quarters.

"Shit did you see the size of that thing?'

"They don't eat people Naruto, they just don't get on with foxes."

"Yeah yeah, very funny. So why did you drag me up to this hole, what is it about sennins and caves anyway? I keep telling you I've gotta go and see Sakura. She'll think I don't care or something."

"Sakura knows you care, she'll understand."

Between his anxiety and the heavy climb Naruto was already drawing on the fox's power. No wonder the poor tanuki had been scared. Jiraiya bared his teeth in a foxy grin of his own.

"Let's go inside, I'd like you to try a new jutsu."

"Wow, a new jutsu, why didn't you say so before."

With a snap of his fingers Jiraiya lit up his old torches. Damn if they didn't work as well as ever after forty years. Tsunade had promised to come and see them once, but never had. Well there was still time. A quick glance confined that his blanket was still tucked behind a rock where he'd left it too.

"Okay I want you to form a rasengen."

"Feh, that's not new, I've done a million of them."

"But I want you to form this from the kyuubi's chakra, and to seal it in a layer of your chakra. A rasengen within a rasengen. It will take supreme control, do you think you can do it."

"Hey I'm the chakra control champion. Watch the master old man."

Naruto scrunched his face in concentration, forming the ball of red fire. Several times it threatened to expand out of control, but he pulled it back in, compressing it into a darkly glowing sphere that he held in the palm of one hand.

"Ha! Told you it was easy. What dya want me to do now?"

Jiraiya had been gradually working his way towards the cave entrance, backing off as the evil chakra intensified. He wiped a drop of sweat from his brow onto the back of his hand and wiggled his fingers.

"Now set it in motion, slowly, but make sure it stays compressed. Think of the water balloon, don't let it puncture the skin."

The ball started to spin and rose from his hand, slowly looping around inside the cave in erratic circles, like a drunken sparrow."

"Is it a trap? Are you going to blow up the mountain?"

"No, I rather like this mountain. This is more of a decoy. A beacon. I just want to leave it bouncing around here until it runs out of power."

Naruto pulled a face. It seemed like a funny sort of decoy. He could make any number of clones that would lure someone better than a stupid bouncing ball. Although he had to admit it was rather hypnotic to watch.

"How long will it last?"

"Long enough I hope."

"You're weird Ero-sennin, all that smut has gone to your brain. So what do we do now?"

"Well I think I would like to check on Sakura, wouldn't you?"

He slapped a chakra seal on Naruto's forehead, slung him over his shoulder and set off down the mountain.

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Iruka remembered sitting by Kakashi's bedside after Itachi's first attack, as his lover lay in a coma. He'd seemed so peaceful, like a puppy sleeping after being worn out by a long day of play.

And it had been a living hell. Why hadn't he told him before?

He saw the droop in Kakashi's shoulders and the clench in his jaw. He didn't need to see into his eyes to know how deep and empty they looked. "Of course I'll stay if you want me to. I'll always be here for you Kashi, never doubt that."

He slipped off his sandals and pulled his heels up onto the bed, tucking them behind Kakashi's hips, snuggling close. Their lips were about to make contact when the door swung open.

Sakura stood stock still, her face as pink as her hair. "Oh God!"

She peeped between the hands that seemed to have sprung up to her face of their own free will. Although her embarrassment, her mortification, was genuine, she could feel her inner fangirl rejoicing with glee. She'd actually caught her senseis 'in the act'. Just wait, Ino would die of envy.

Iruka whipped his head towards her, smacking Kakashi hard on the nose with his cheek. Kakashi cursed softly and covered it with both hands. Unfortunately this also covered most of his face, _before _she'd had a chance to get a good look at it.

"Ah! Sakura, come in. We were just…"

"Kissing." Kakashi finished for him, before making good on his word then turning away to grab a handful of tissues from the box beside the bed.

The effort to stop the squee from coming out made Sakura's eyes water.

Iruka rushed to her side, blushing fiercer than she was, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Sakura, please… don't be so upset. Surely you had some idea. Kakashi-sensei and I… we've been together for a while now."

Kakashi had his face buried in tissues as he tried to staunch the small trickle of blood from his nose. "I've been fighting pirates, bandits, Akatsuki, sennins and wolf demons and the first one to draw blood is my own husband."

Sakura's voice was more breathless than a marathon runner after his victory lap. "Husband?"

Iruka gave Kakashi a glare of death as he clapped a hand over Sakura's mouth. "Sssh, I don't think Shizine knows, and I don't think she should know… not right now." He made a feeble attempt at a sheepish grin. "I don't mean we should lie to her, it's just… well, Kakashi-sensei has to go before the council in the morning and well, I think it's a good idea to avoid as many complications as possible. They can be a bit… old fashioned."

Sakura nodded. And continued to stand in the doorway.

"Well?" Kakashi asked through his tissues.

Sakura blinked.

"What can we do for you Sakura-chan, I assume you came here for a reason."

"Oh yes, er, you see this is my room. Or rather it was, I didn't expect anyone else to be in here quite so soon. And you see, I think I may have left something in here, something that may be important."

"And that would be…?"

She stood stiffly, eyes hard and fists clenched into bloodless balls. It looked as if Ibiki's worst tortures wouldn't drag the answer from her.

Kakashi sighed. Hell he'd just been unofficially appointed unofficial temporary Hokage. He was her former jounin sensei and her team leader. "Sakura, if you can't tell me who can you tell?"

She let out a deep breath and flexed her fingers. "Yeah, you're right Kakashi-sensei. Of course you're right. It was a scroll, a mission scroll. And it was classified, I… I shouldn't have taken it out of the records room."

"If it's important then I'm glad you did. There _is_ no record room now. It's in my jacket, wherever Iruka-sensei's hidden that."

He shot a dark look at the other man, remembering suddenly why he'd been unable to escape his current fate. "Shizune-san found it when you were brought in and gave it to me."

Iruka stalked over to the closet in the corner of the room. "For your information Kakashi-sensei, I didn't hide your clothes, I took them home to clean them. I was going to bring you some fresh ones tomorrow. I left the scroll here."

He threw it with the kind of force and accuracy to be expected from a distinguished chuunin.

Kakashi snatched it from the air, with the kind of lightening move to be expected from a distinguished jounin, one handed, while still holding his tissues to his face.

Sakura's inner fangirl reveled in their bickering. It was almost as much fun as their smooching. "Wow, you two really are married aren't you?"

She took the scroll and unrolled it on the bed so that they could all read it together.

"It just looks like any other mission scroll to me, why is this one important."

"Because you didn't go on this mission Kakshi-sensei, I cross-referenced it everywhere."

Kakashi scanned the date, his heart suddenly felt weighted with lead. He took some more tissues. "You're right. It was just after my father…I was taken off mission duty for a while."

Iruka knew the layout of these scrolls too well to miss the obvious. "But you're here Kakashi, your whole team is mentioned."

Even to himself his voice sounded cold and distant. "We were at war. It was bad enough that the enemy knew White fang was gone, Sondaime didn't want them to think I was out of commission too. He sent a substitute, using henge."

So it was Obito that Itachi had wanted all along. They'd been close, grown up together, as he had with Sam. That perfect moment of sexual union had been between Obito and Itachi. But Obito had thought it was with him. Obito had loved him, and felt he had the right to his love in return, while he had been screwing every willing partner he could find. No wonder his teammate had been so angry and spiteful after he'd been allowed to rejoin his team. He'd been the right angle of their love triangle without even knowing it.

"Thank you Sakura, you've done well. Come and see me again in the morning, okay?"

Sometimes shit doesn't just happen. Sometimes life heaves it at you by the truckload.


	34. Chapter 34

It rained hard over fire country that night. Almost as if the whole place felt a need to cleanse itself of the odour of blood still lingering in the streets and in the forest. And Kakashi did sleep well, he always slept better in a rainstorm. But the real reason was sprawled under him. Iruka. Adding just enough weight to the bed to anchor him to his faltering grip on reality. Making little snorting noises when he shifted position, homely sounds that pulled him back when his mind started slipping into places too dark and too deep. And Iruka's sweet scent of sunshine and skin, forming a thick cloud of happiness around him.

He left very early, borrowing Iruka's clothes and vanishing out of the window into the freezing pre-dawn moonlight. The cold and the damp barely registered, as he leapt over the rooftops, or as he knelt at the stone. And he took his time asking forgiveness for what he knew was already forgiven, and explaining in detail what he knew was already understood. Finally he asked if Obito had realised the truth, or at least part of the truth… at the very end.

But as he pulled himself upright on his cold stiff legs he knew he'd have to wait for the answer. And he knew that Obito would want to wait as long as possible to give it to him.

Kakashi shed Iruka's clothes and folded them neatly as Iruka always did, and he never did. Then crawled back to his place pressed against his warm body. Iruka barely stirred. He'd arrived home often enough, cold and damp, for it to be part of the life they shared. His lover, his husband, simply folded him into a tighter embrace. Giving him his warmth as freely and as automatically as he gave him his love. This was worth fighting for, it was worth dying for, it was even worth the risk of being flung back into that fearsome abyss.

Iruka was still sleeping soundly when he woke again a few hours later. Shizune was standing over them, her face as dark as thunder. Kakashi pressed a finger to his lips, snatched up his headband and slipped out of bed, beckoning her over to a corner.

He made his blue eye round and innocent as he adjusted his wrinkled hospital gown to something closer to decent. "We were only sleeping I promise."

"Oh, so there was no kissing this time."

The corners of his mouth twitched up. "Maybe just a bit. But don't blame him, it was my idea."

She looked away and shook her head slowly, but when she looked back she was smiling. "Your meeting with the council is in an hour, you should ask what they want to do with the Mist sennin, he has demon blood in him and he's recovering fast." She walked to the door then turned back. "And wear something ironed."

"Ironed? Who did she think he was? He'd never ironed anything in his life. Well he was a genius, he could work it out."

Iruka's clothes were on the chair where he'd left them, but he couldn't take them again. Iruka would wake up any time, and if he found himself alone, naked, with no clothes… well, the result wouldn't be pretty. He opened the door a crack, henged into a hairy little grey mutt, and scurried out.

Twenty minutes later he re-entered the hospital room, where Iruka was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, toweling his wet hair. He looked up as he heard the door.

"Stop!"

"What is it Ruka?"

"You! Turn around."

He obediently spun in a small circle.

"I'm sorry Sir, you must have the wrong room. This is Hatake-san's room. Perhaps you've seen him?" He stood up and took a step towards him, with just a hint of menace showing through the tension in his muscular frame.

"He's sort of shaggy and messy," another step, "rumpled and crinkled," another, "and he never combs his hair, but underneath he's quite ador..mpff."

His last word was squelched as he was grabbed and pressed into a hot wet kiss.

Iruka pulled back, keeping his arms hooked around Kakashi's waist. "It's a good look on you… neat."

"Don't worry, it won't last. I had to wash these pants in the shower and dry them with fire, I scorched them a bit."

"Mmm, I'd planned to do laundry last night."

Iruka glanced up through his eyelashes. "But I guess I never made it home. I wish I could say that the council would understand if you showed up dirty and messy, but from what I've heard of them they'd see it as an insult. Had Breakfast?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Just some of Sam's godawful Turkish coffee."

"Then I'll have some by the time you get back. You promised to talk to the people at the gate, remember."

Shit, so he did. Just as he was hoping he might squeeze in the time for some fun.

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As Kakashi was climbing back into bed after his chat with Obito, Jiraiya was waking up in the stone structure he'd created as shelter from the rain. He looked over at the hearth where the fire had burned down to a few embers, and to Naruto beside it. Lying where he'd left him, as limp as a rag doll. He hoisted him onto his shoulder and stepped out into the bracing damp air. It had stopped raining but it wouldn't last, and there was a cold front moving in, the next lot would be snow.

He moved fast, despite his burden and was soon within the forests immediately surrounding the village. Then he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. Ghost-like shapes amongst the trees, some of them swaying and moaning, but most just standing, drooping forlornly like the living dead. But they weren't dead, he could feel them. What kind of bizarre jutsu was this?

Oh crap.

Underworld swamp, that's what. They were the people he'd trapped the day before. He'd completely forgotten about them, and left them here in the freezing rain. Maybe if he released it quickly and ran…

He set Naruto down, walked towards the group and hastily formed the seals. Now to get out of here before anyone recognised him.

The closest figure straightened and took a step on the now firm ground, lurching towards him. He was tall and would have been imposing, but for his black hair hanging in long limp rattails, and his wet silk robe clinging to his shivering body. A silk robe embroidered with the crest of the Hyuuga clan.

Crap.

Jiraiya tore at his hair with both hands. There was no escape.

"Hiashi-san, so you've, er, been here all night?

The Hyuuga patriarch's milky eyes homed in on him. "Jiraira, is that you?"

Crap. He could almost feel the 'gentle fist' squishing his insides already.

"And you've removed the jutsu. But that's right, you have one that's quite similar don't you."

Jiraira struggled to bring his voice down from the soprano range. "Uh yes, remarkably similar."

Hiashi flung himself towards him and Jiraira braced himself for unbearable pain. But he felt wet silk and wet hair, clammy icy hands around his shoulders.

"All I can say is thank you, thank you. If we'd been stuck here much longer we'd have frozen to death. Do you mind if I speak frankly? Well I will anyway, this needs to be said. To be honest I've never really liked you. I thought you were crude, and rash, and loud. And I've never trusted you around my womenfolk. You always seemed to be the kind who'd be irresponsible enough to cause trouble for people and just walk away without another thought."

He knelt and bowed his head almost to the ground. "Please forgive me for thinking ill of you for so long. I can see now just how profoundly mistaken I've been."

It took sennin level control to keep from loosing it. "Really, it's nothing. Really." Jiraiya pointed to the orange clad body a little way off. "Well I came out here to bring back Naruto, I should…"

As he fled the scene he heard Hiashi's voice calling after him. "Come to the main house sometime. We'll have tea … and a nice chat."

And yet that wasn't the strangest group he ran into on his return. There was a crowd around Konoha's main gate, of the strangest assortment of individuals he'd ever seen. There were ninjas from the surrounding countries, in ones and two's, half faded into the background. Retainers from several of the more prominent noble families, a few of the lesser lords had come themselves. But mostly they were just folks, farmers, merchants, tradesmen and women.

A youth who smelled strongly of fish grabbed the hem of his robe.

"Hey Sinobi-san. Is that Naruto Shinobi-san? Is he alright? And Kakashi-san, what about him? We heard he'd never got home."

He was about to shake the boy off when the hand was slapped away.

"Imari, leave Jiraiya-sama alone. Don't you know that he's one of the three great Sages of Konoha?"

A dark haired beauty was gazing at him with the deepest, purest, most luscious doe-eyes he'd ever seen.

"Please forgive my son but Kakashi-san is very precious to our family. He's done more to help us than I can ever say. We just wanted to offer… well any kind of help at all. All of the people here owe him a debt of gratitude, we're all here to help."

The old lecher's face broadened into a grin. "Er, Naruto's fine, just sleeping. And Kakashi got home, eventually. Perhaps I could just drop Naruto off, then we could discuss things in more…detail. More…privately."

His fingers were starting to twitch when he heard a voice from the tower above. "Jiraiya-_sama_, are you bringing him in or are you going to stand there and flirt all day.

He looked up and noted the bandannad auburn hair, the senbon between the teeth. Genma. The man was dead, no matter what his special value as a jounin.

"Coming through."

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Kakashi arrived minutes later. Shit what was this? A convention of all his past missionees. What did they want from him? Autographs? They surged towards him, touching, feeling, as if they didn't believe he was for real.

And he'd been trying to keep these clothes clean.

He would have fled but for a firm grip on the back of his jacket. Genma, the man was dead. Or worse, he's assign him a gennin team, being Hokage had to be good for something.

"Just talk to them Kakashi, they won't leave until you do, we already tried. Just say: I'm alive, thanks, now go home."

He waded into the crowd, using every once of his formidable will to resist disappearing underground. A ball of light exploded overhead with a pop. That shut them up.

"Everyone, please. As you can see I'm fine. I was out of touch for a while, but the village leaders underestimated me. But you're my friends and you know me better than that. It's cold here and it's wet, go home."

The edge of his vision caught a puff of chakra and a cloud of dew. Must have been a couple of mist nin teleporting away. Why would they want to help? Perhaps he'd once decided it was less trouble to spare them than to kill them. The rest of the crowd cheered then dispersed to break down their tents and rough shelters.

Good, that wasn't too painful. But his sharp eye noticed something else, movement in the opposite direction.

The two figures approached, rapidly. Moving with grace and speed that was unmistakably feminine. As they got closer he could see that they were tall, with flowing red curls. There was something vaguely familiar about them, but whoa! If he'd ever seen this pair before he'd have remembered. Twins. Georgeous. A wet dream in stereo.

They slid into place on either side of him. "Hatake-sama we presume?"

His heart did little backflips and another, more southern, body part started to do some pretty aggressive twitching around too.

One of the twins brushed her hand through his tussled hair. "We have a mutual friend I believe. Umino Iruka? An academy teacher?"

Oh. So they knew Iruka. Well it had been a good fantasy for as long as it lasted. …Not that he would have actually _done_ anything. Not really… he'd _never_ betray Iruka. Not even if…"

Just as his eye had started to close in blissfully perverted contemplation, there was a rush of air and a blinding flash of white… teeth? Gai?

The new arrival sparkled. How? Hadn't he been out in the rain all night? Hell, this was all he needed right now, another stupid challenge.

But Gai wasn't looking at him. His eyes were darting from one side to the other, checking out the twin embodiments of absolute female sexiness. He took two steps towards the green beast and in the blink of an eye Gai had taken his place between the women.

"Kakashi my rival, won't you introduce me to your friends? These perfect visions of youthful beauty."

Kakashi took two steps to the side. "To be honest we haven't been formally introduced ourselves. Ladies, this is Maito Gai, my friend and eternal, er, rival."

"Mimi."

"Fifi. There were rumours of something bad in Konoha and our brother sent us to help you. He's the Hero of Hidden Waterfall."

Now Kakashi knew why they looked familiar. He didn't know the Hero well, but he was a friend he valued.

The other twin picked up the conversation without a break, as if they had a single train of thought between them.

"But it looks as if we're too late. Just our luck, we missed out on the fighting but arrived in time for the clean up."

"Although if it's not too urgent we could use a little break first."

"Yes, we've just come a long way."

Mimi traced her middle finger along Gai's jutting jawline.

"We've always admired a man with strong features."

Fifi's hand disappeared behind Gai's body. From the way he jumped Kakashi could imagine where it had landed.

"And strong eyebrows, especially strong eyebrows. We've heard they're a sign of impressive… stamina."

Gai's eyes had become large and round, rounder even than Lee's. He struck a pose and the women giggled.

"Ladies, the springtime of our youth visits us but once. If my esteemed rival will excuse us, I think I can offer a quiet place for you to, er, rest. Tea and crumpets? My place?"

He offered them an arm each, which they accepted, and Kakashi watched them stroll towards the village. And although it was barely past daybreak, and the sky was dark as pewter, he could swear he saw a glorious sunset behind them for just an instant.

He blinked hard and his eye focussed on something even more delightful. Iruka walked up to him casually. So he'd been watching them the whole time, the skunk.

"Well… um, 'Hatake-sama', Jiraiya's back. I was about to rescue you from the Taki Amazons. But it looks as if I'm not needed."

Kakashi brushed their fingertips together. "Iruka, I'll always need you. Never forget that. But you saw? Gai? Gai with those two. Both of them? I don't think I'll have to worry about any challenges for a while, do you?"

Iruka gave him a Gai-worthy smile. "No, I think even he'll find himself plenty challenged."

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Back at the hospital, his room was getting rather crowded. The tasteless rice cakes that Iruka had provided from the hospital kitchen sat abandoned, in favour of the boxes of exquisite pastries that Sampo brought with him. Kakashi, Iruka and Jiraiya sat on the bed, Sakura and Sampo on the floor. Narto was sprawled on the chair, still sealed.

"Since you're our acting Hokage I think you should take it off."

"You put it on, you take it off."

"Hell no, I still have the scars from last time I pissed him off."

Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair. "Then why did you…?"

"I let him lay a chakra trail away from the village, and had him leave a huge gob of kyuubi chakra out in the foothills. It should lure anyone looking for him up there, but it wouldn't have worked if I'd let him shed chakra all the way back."

Sakura stood up and faced them, hands on hips. "What a bunch of wusses. I'll do it."

Before anyone could stop her she'd snatched off the seal.

Naruto's eyes flashed open. His legs stiffened, his toes twitched and quivered, and his back arched as he sucked in loud deep ragged breaths. "Ah ah ah aargh Sasuske… Sakura."

She stood gobsmacked for just a moment, then whacked the flat of her hand across his jaw so hard that the chair was smashed into the wall behind him, and he slid to the ground on the pile of wooden fragments. Leaving an indent in the wall the size of a soup bowl.

His eyes were hazed but not, apparently, with concussion. "Oh Sakura, I always knew that you cared for me, but I never dreamt..."

Kakashi scratched his nose through his mask. "Oh right. I'd forgotten the orgasmic release when the seal's removed. You wouldn't have any more of those things would you Jijii?"

Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows. "Sorry kid, I think we'll need them to keep our friend from Mist under control. He'll be awake in another day or two, and as dangerous as ever."

Sampo looked from one white haired genius to the other, then stroked his bald head. "We need a more permanent solution, and you can't kill him. How about those priests you mentioned Jiraiya-sama, The Protective Order of the Wolf Blood Warrior."

"Keeping Ookami Ketsuekimusha out of the way is their reason for existing. But do we really want to risk sending him back to Hidden Mist? There are other cults there hoping to revive him."

Kakashi tented his fingers in front of his lips, as if asking for divine assistance. "What choice do we have? Go and find your red-robed bishonen and tell him to bring his box. Tell him we have the prize that goes inside."

"Kyuichose No Jutsu."

They just had time to make it to the sides of the room before they found themselves pressed against the walls by slimy skin. A voice boomed from above.

"I've told you before not to summon me indoors. I get nervous in small spaces, it makes the mucus glands in my skin open up something horrible."

Jiraiya had already noticed. Everyone had already noticed. They had all just been liberally showered with the stuff. "Er right, well times a bit short. We're going back to Hidden Mist, now."

Kakashi had never been more glad for the mask covering his face. "I'd like you to take Naruto too. He'll be safer at a distance from Konoha, at least for the time being. You've been good at keeping him away from the Akatsuki so far."

A female voice sounded from across the room. "Can I go with them Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi could just make out the back of Naruto's blond head where the frog-summon's thigh curved away from the wall. Grabbing what he guessed to be his arm, he dragged him out of the door.

Once in the hallway he tapped his lips through his mask as a signal for them to keep their voices low. "What do you think Naruto, would it be okay for Sakura to go?"

Naruto looked puzzled. "Why not? You don't mean because… but hey, she's my teammate."

Kakashi fixed him with a meaningful stare, his _most_ meaningful stare. "I don't mean with you, I mean with Jiraiya."

Naruto didn't look any less puzzled as he scratched the back of his neck. "Well he's sorta standing in for you, isn't he? We'd be his team just like we're your team, er… with you."

Kakashi shook his head. A drop of goo detached from one of the floppier spikes of his hair, and dropped onto the metal part of his headband. "That's not what I mean. Look I know that Sakura likes cute moody prettyboys with inky hair and soulful eyes…"

The blond head slumped forward and Naruto wrinkled his nose, making his whisker marks twitch. "Yeah."

"But what about Jiraira, you know him as well as anyone by now."

At this Naruto's eye's opened wide, as blue and bright as the dawning of a new day, or at least a new truth. "Hell no. If he tried anything like that with Sakura-chan I'd… I'd rip his head off."

Kakashi's eye twinkled just blue and just as bright. He stepped back into the doorway. "That's an excellent idea Sakura-chan. Of course you should go too."

Once the three, and the toad, thank God, had left he ran a hand through his slimy hair.

"Gah, I can't go before the council like this. Dammit, the one time in my life when I _didn't _want to be late."

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Quick note. Has anyone else noticed that at the end of a series all the old characters all turn up en mass? I just wondered how that would work somewhere as secretive as Konoha. Also it gave me a plot device to work in a few other ideas (fiendish grin).


	35. Chapter 35

A/N If you haven't you should read chap 34. A lot of people are missing it. It's really all one chapter but I split it in two because it was too long. A lot of the resolution takes place in 34.

00

Iruka stretched the length of his back against a streetlamp, trying to contrive some measure of support from its too narrow, too upright structure. But he was still as uncomfortable on the outside as he was on the inside. He pulled his woolen overcoat tighter around his throat against the chill, almost glad that he'd been forced to home and change. Poor Kakashi, well, they'd wiped off as much slime as they could.

Kakshi had been in there a long time now, in the council chamber. At least that part of the Hokage building should have been left completely undamaged by the explosion. Iruka had been down there, once or twice, delivering reports and folders. So he knew that it was a big hollow space, full of statues and columns. Too impressive, too big. Like many of the formal places in Konoha, it had been built to awe and intimidate, as much as to inspire.

Well good luck to the Council trying to intimidate Kakashi.

As Iruka waited, and fidgeted, he let his eyes rake over the outside of the building. Up close he could see that the damage was much less than he'd imagined. The top of the tower itself had collapsed, but that was chiefly an architectural detail. All in all they'd got off very lightly.

The whole area had been encircled by orange construction tape almost at once. Civilian and ninja work crews had shored up the most unstable parts of the building almost as fast, and were currently clearing away the remaining rubble. He supposed it was worth the effort, that whether Kakashi won or lost the final battle with Itachi, Konoha would go on. It would be a sad shadow of what it had once been, at least for him, but Konoha would still go on.

The mist had vanished completely, and so had all the enemy ninjas that they'd left where they'd fallen. No doubt they were all on their way home now, bewildered by their blank headbands and relieved to have escaped with their lives after mysteriously waking up in the wrong village. He knew because it had happened to him not so long ago.

After what seemed far too long, a dark clad figure emerged from the doorway. How could anyone move with such speed and purpose, and still make it look like a shambling slouch.

He walked over to meet him half way. "So how'd it go."

Iruka didn't really need to ask, the murder glinting in that one eye told him all he needed to know.

"Well I have new respect for Tsunade, putting up with those old fuckers every day. They looked at me as if I was scum, alright I admit, I smell like scum, but I tried to explain. They choked when I told them we need all the hunters to track down Itachi. They want them to help out the ANBU, to arrest everyone that came in from the outside. Including those who came to help us out, 'just in case'. Including Temari and Kankuro. That will do wonders for our alliance with Sand. They even want me to bring in Sam for questioning. Sam!"

Iruka took his hand, discretely. They may be married but they still weren't officially 'out'.

"So what will you do?"

Iruka hesitated, then put an arm around his shoulders. They _had _only been able to wipe _most_ of the toad mucus off his clothes, but on the other hand, he must be _really_ upset to be showing this much emotion in a public place.

"I don't have much choice. They're the only law here now. I'm just the poor sucker who'll get dumped with the blame." The copy nin's eye crinkled into a smile without loosing any of its fire. "Starting tomorrow. Right now I need to rest, relax, maybe read for a bit. I was in a big battle yesterday. You know, sharingan, chakra depletion. By the way Sam said to say goodbye, asked us to visit soon."

So that had been his first stop. But if Kakashi had come back here to cover his tracks it meant he knew he was being watched. He removed his arm. "And the others?"

"Word spreads fast in a ninja village."

Kakashi stopped them in front of a small café. "Is it too early to get a drink?"

A woman seated at an outside table waved.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched. As if he wasn't agitated enough already, now strangers were waving at him. He'd never been comfortable being the _Famous_ copy cat ninja. Ninja's _shouldn't _be famous, they should live in the shadows, secretive, unknown. He smoothed two fingers along the edge of his mask.

Then _he_ recognised _her_, the bug woman from cloud. She was apparently eating breakfast, sitting alone at the wet table, under the dreary sky. Maybe she hadn't felt welcome inside where it was warm. Maybe he wasn't surprised. But he was glad to see her. He could show his appreciation even if his village wouldn't.

"Hey there. Iruka told me how you helped him. You didn't have to, and you won't get any thanks for it back in Kumo. But thanks."

She shrugged. "You two saved my butt first."

Her black eyes darted to their interlocked hands. Damn waste. "A friend in need and all that… well I've gotta go, might as well. You'll be kicking all the foreign nins out as fast as you can anyway. Or locking us up, I know how things are in a hidden village."

He certainly did. "Did you find your brother?" Kakashi was surprised to realise that he really cared.

"Yeah, the little squirt doesn't remember a thing. At least not after that white haired slut went prancing off into the bushes with him and his team and a bottle of sake. Men, once you get their dicks interested in something the rest of them just follows right along. He's over at the morgue, couldn't find one of his teammates so he's checking through all the stiffs."

"Well I hope he finds his friend."

Kakashi felt a sharp kick to the ankle. Yes he could have worded that better. He scratched the back of his head. "Just… not there."

"Well there are pretty lean pickings from what I've heard. Less than twenty dead on both sides. If it wasn't just a bit too ironic I'd describe this as a bloodless war."

"It's still twenty who won't go home to the people that love them."

A single snowflake, a fragile crystalline feather, descended to the tabletop in a slow spiral, and vanished on contact.

"Hey, you can't blame yourselves for that. You're one hell of a shinobi Hatake-sama. I never had much regard for Konoha, always thought of you Leaf nins as rich and soft. But now I can see that you're as tough as any of us. Tougher. That's what gives you the wiggle room to be a bit… kinder. And your pretty swordsman here, he's alright too."

Iruka had hoped he'd be left out of this, the woman still made him unbearably uncomfortable. "I'm, er, not a swordsman. I mean I can handle a blade but it's not what I do. Actually I'm an academy sensei."

She gagged, choked, and laughed so loud that if they had been just a bit slower, she would have sprayed mango juice all over them. They'd been slimed enough for one morning.

"Hell no wonder you handed us our arses back in the last secret war, if even your school teachers…" Another flake melted onto the back of her hand as her fingertips touched the empty glass, sliding it aside as she stood up. "I'd better get that kid, before he gets himself into trouble again. We've got a ways to go and the weather is turning against us."

"Wait." Kakashi leaned over to scribble something on the back of her receipt. "Hand this in at the gate, they'll give you papers, safe transit out of Fire Country, no questions."

She trapped it under a finger and scraped it off the edge of the table. "I see, you've got hunters out there. Well 'a word to the wise', we won't hang about. Wouldn't want to run into them… or whoever they're hunting."

She waved behind once, then sauntered away in the direction of the morgue. Iruka squeezed Kakashi's fingers. "You think Itachi's in the forest?"

'I hope he's in the forest, but I'm afraid that he's not. That he's already here."

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They walked away slowly, watching the sky gently scatter its burden of snow. It wouldn't stick, at least, not yet. The ground was too warm and too wet. It would probably just accumulate into a layer of dirty, slippery slush. But the temperature was falling rapidly. Iruka pulled his coat around him some more and glanced at Kakashi, in his uniform, in shirtsleeves. And he was always the first to complain about the cold. So Kakashi was still dosed up on enough soldier pills to make an elephant tap dance… after it had jumped over the moon. He must be like a furnace inside.

The snow thickened considerably, pulling the flat grey of the heavens down to the level of the streets, only to transform to a frosting of white on every horizontal surface. Kakashi had got a little ahead of him, and Iruka quickened his pace to catch up. As he fell into step beside the dark silhouette, it turned to face him.

"Say, excuse me sir, could you tell me where I can find Hatake Kakashi."

Iruka stumbled in surprise at hearing the name of the man he expected to see, coming from an unexpected, unknown face. His hand darted for a weapon.

"I know he said we should go home… but I came all this way, I just got here. If I could just say 'thanks' in person."

Iruka stared at the young man. He wasn't a ninja, that was for damn sure. Even for a civilian he seemed unusually awkward and uncoordinated. And despite his height and angular build, he seemed almost delicate, like a very tall bird. His stooped posture drooped further under the inspection, then bent forward into a formal bow.

"Oh, I'm sorry Shinobi-san, my name's Gep."

Gep, where had he heard that name before? Right, the Mermaid pirates. The kunai slipped back into his pouch with a soft ching.

"So er, you're… _Little_ Gep?" The youth was at least two inches taller than he was and Iruka found himself wondering just which part was little. Or was it a joke because he was so big? He blushed in shame. He'd been living with that damn pervert for too long. "Kakashi told me about you."

But the sneaky bastard hadn't mentioned his bottomless eyes and cute little lisp.

"Wow, you know Sharingan Kakashi in person? For real?"

A soft glow suffused the young man's face and his huge dark eyes misted over. "He saved me you know. Of course I don't remember any of it. I don't remember anything. But I heard that he's as handsome as a God, a giant with white hair like a snow capped mountain."

Something deep inside warned Iruka to be very wary of what he said. "Well he's taller than average, and his hair _is_ silvery white, but I…"

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As they turned a corner Kakashi realised that Iruka was no longer with him. Snow was falling hard now. Straight down, without a single breath of wind to stir eddies or form drifts. But it wasn't real. He was in a genjutsu… of a snowstorm within the snowstorm. All the streets were completely empty. No sound, no movement, under a blanket of silent snow. And he wasn't alone.

So this was where they'd play out the final scene of their little drama.

"You might as well show yourself, I know you're here. …But why are you here Itachi? After everything you did to break every bond you have with this place?"

The Uchiha materialised, leaning against the wall in front of him. As always his expression was neutral, blank, like that of a statue, or a sleeping tiger.

"Who knows why we do the things we do when it comes all the way down to it. Many small reasons, a few big ones. You know most of it. I didn't lie. There are many levels of truth Hatake-san. The truth, the honest truth, half-truth, things that are true in words only. But you wouldn't be the shinobi you are today if you didn't already know all of that. Let's just say the time was right."

He pulled himself upright, peeling his body away from the wall like a drunk at a carnival. An instant later Kakashi felt bricks against his back and heard the rustle of silk on either side of his head. He clamped down on his emotions, determined not give the other man the satisfaction of acknowledging his fear. But not even he could suppress the cringe as Itachi slowly eased up his headband.

Itachi's breath was warm on his skin in the cold air. "I want something that only you can give. I'd hoped to avoid this, with the wolf's blood you'd have given it willingly, but now it looks as if I'll have to take it by force."

Kakashi pressed back against the wall, trying to avoid those burning red eyes. "You won't find Obito if that's who you're looking for. Do you hate me so much and want me so much, just because I have his eye? Or are you willing to settle for his affection second hand, and you'll put up with the unworthy host to get it?"

Then for the second time in as many days he was bound, eye to eyes, sinking into the crimson depths, linked into a single consciousness. But this time he was ready. Red brightened to white, dazzling, whiter than the falling snow. And they were standing in a place of white mist that wasn't mist. Where they could see nothing because there was nothing to see.

Kakashi knew it at once, the void between life and death. But to his surprise, so did Itachi. So he'd seen this place too, the place that no _living _soul should ever have seen.

How? Through the sharingans of a dying Uchiha perhaps? Had they died so that he could gaze into this place of nothingness?

And having seen it, had he looked for a way to get here? …And to bring someone back?"

Kakashi pushed further, sweeping them along, until they could see a speck in the far far distance, a tiny smudge against the white. And then they were under the tree of life, bathed in its perfect aura of quiet calm.

From high in its branches Obito looked down… at both of them, through the portal of his memory, and winked. Smiling and flirting with the eye they still shared.

Kakashi became aware that he was shaking, or rather was being shaken.

Itachi had him in a vice like grip, physically as well as mentally. "How did you do it? How? How did you get there _and get back_? Tell me damn you, tell me."

The Uchiha's massive power, unleashed in its rawest elemental form roared around them. Whipping the snow like a tornado, with the two men at its eye. Their Uchiha eyes. Locked together, two flawed prodigies, dark and light. The one who'd had everything and destroyed it to gain nothing. And the one who'd had nothing, but by accepting it had been given everything.

Kakashi threw Itachi back with a single blast of lightening chakra, jerking away his sharingan, and shoving his headband down over it for good measure. "It's gone now. It was a path that could only be used once. Obito's not yours and he never was. And neither am I. You can't use me to reach him."

Itachi stood staring at him for a moment more, his face etched with anguish and disbelief. Then Kakashi watched the ripples of his hair and the billow of his robe as he turned, and faded behind the curtain of falling snow.

So that was it. It was over, in the space of a few minutes, and without so much as a murmur in the real world beyond the genjutsu.

Uchiha Itachi had once used the power of the sharingan to throw him into the pit of the abyss, into a world of his own hopelessness and despair. Now he'd used it to show Itachi a glimpse of the tree of life, a place of perfect peace and perfect understanding.

As the proud Uchiha vanished into the snowy streets he wondered which of them was guilty of inflicting the greater torment on the other.

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Iruka was where he'd last seen him, a few feet away. With the last person he ever expected to see again. Little Gep.

He stepped behind him, fighting to calm his racing pulse, and breathed in his ear. "So are you two talking about me? Nothing good I hope."

Iruka stamped backwards, hard, aiming for Kakashi's instep. But only succeeded in jolting his ankle and knee. Damn him, just how long had he been lurking there stealthed?

Gep watched Kakashi's hand snake around Iruka's waist. His jaw dropped open. "Are you two…? I mean… are you…"

In answer to his half question Kakashi pulled down his mask, planted one hand firmly on each sweet pert teacher buttock, and claimed Iruka's gaping mouth in a bruising, tongue wrangling, kiss. A kiss that apparently contained a secret jutsu to bypass a normal human's need for fresh oxygen.

He pulled away leaving Iruka gasping and quivering. "There's more than one kind of love in this world kid. They're all good, as long as the people are good."

Gep was blushing as much as Iruka, and that was saying something.

"Wow, you know, you see I have this new friend, Chu. He's from across the sea, he came to study our marshes. And I know he likes me, and he's so cute. But I…"

Iruka noticed a steely glint to Kakashi's eye that suggested there was more to this than he would ever tell.

The copy nin scratched his head as his eye closed to a crescent. "Go for it kid. You're parents will get over it. They wouldn't want to risk losing you again, trust me."

When he opened his eye it had become narrow and calculating. "You know I'm glad you came here. Those marshes around Stonebridge Village, they're pretty isolated, good for hiding something in, right? Perhaps you wouldn't mind taking someone back with you, a priest. I've been told he's cute too."

Kakashi slipped his other arm around him and squeezed both brown eyed men, laughing. Come on, I'll write out a visa so that you can stay until Jiraiya gets back. We'll pass you off as a merchant. What do you want to sell? Bootleg CDs, fountain pens, kinky underwear?

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The secret expedition to take Ookami Ketsuekimusha back to Hidden Mist left as soon as Jiraira returned with a delegation of priests and the crystal sarcophagus. Three of the red robed priests went with it. The other three accompanied Gep and team Kurenai deep into the marshes of cloud country, to select and prepare a new chamber in a more secret place.

Tsunade came to watch them go, in her first public appearance since the attack. She looked as young, as strong and as healthy as ever. But the more perceptive of her shinobi noticed that she only stood for a few minutes and that Shizune was never more than a couple of feet from her side.

Kakashi, Iruka, Naruto and Sakura watched from a rooftop. No one else knew the significance of the strangers' presence, or of the danger sealed in the draped box they took with them. And they all knew that that was exactly the way it should be.

"So there they go." Iruka commented, as he tracked them through the streets, bumping past the bustle of a normal day. "But no one's cured though, are they? If he's revived he'll still have control of everyone in the jutsu, including Gai. It's hard to believe that fragile glass box can really hold him."

Sakura waved to Tsunade, who waved back to them. "Yeah but Tsunade-sama didn't just hand him over. She's got some pretty serious jutsu's of her own. The Hundred Year Rest, she called it. She said it's a traditional number for sleeping beauties. And as long as he never wakes up the blood jutsu won't either."

"And in a hundred years everyone already infected will have already died a natural death."

"Exactly, that's the idea. And when the coma ends he'll die to."

Kakashi reached for Iruka's hand. "He's been denied death for far too long already. Maybe then even the wolf demon will be able to find some peace."

Naruto squinted one eye closed. "It still kinda seems like a waste. All that power just dumped in the bottom of a marsh. There oughta be some way to make good use of it."

Kakashi looked at Naruto coolly. Maybe… if he had the wisdom of his Sensei. The skill to seal a demon into a child, so that the child had all the demon's strength but none of its evil. But that had been done as an act of desperation, this was different.

"It's better this way."

He turned as Iruka touched his masked cheek. "It _is_ a lot of power. Are you sure you'll never be tempted to go there and take the blood jutsu for yourself? You've done some pretty desperate things."

"Have I Iruka?" He trapped the hand under his own and gave it a cloth covered kiss.

Was Iruka starting to remember, did he know that he'd followed him to the shadow between life and death, and that he'd risked more than anyone could ever justify in _his_ desperation to bring him back?

There was something as solid as the earth beneath them in the depths of Iruka's eyes. "You're the only one who can answer that."

"Well I hereby guarantee that I won't reactivate the jutsu and try to take over the world. " He shot the other man a sneaky look. "Although it would be nice to use it on Gai, to stop him with his damn challenges."

"Kakashi, don't joke about it, that's a dangerous power. How can you be so sure you won't ever be tempted?"

"Because if I did I would make you so angry that you'd never talk to me again. And not even world domination is worth risking that."

Sakura felt her heart flutter. She wished to God they'd just pull that damn mask out of the way and kiss properly. Kakashi looked at her as if he expected her to add something. So he'd seen her looking at him.

"Er, besides, world domination sounds like a lot of work. As Shikamaru would say it would be extremely troublesome."

Kakashi smiled, but she knew she hadn't fooled him.

"You said it kid."

The village spread at their feet, a few familiar buildings were damaged beyond repair, but on the whole everything looked just the way it should. Already filled with villagers, still sweeping up broken window glass, clearing rubble and counting their mixed blessings at sharing their home with the world's best ninjas.

Kakashi felt a glow stirring deep within, that went far beyond the satisfaction of a successful mission. "There's another reason I can be sure. That old sennin was right, I'm not a wolf, I'm a dog. Only dogs are can offer unconditional love."

Iruka's eyes, as brown as the forest floor, held him as tight as any binding jutsu. "You mean for Konoha?"

"Yeah." He met the look with a blue eye misted with more emotions than any of them could fathom, as he added under his breath, "that too."


End file.
